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ife 4el}i-S-m ^atk%

FOB COLLECTING Aim

BELICS OF POPULAR ANTIQIHTIES, &c.

BffTABLlSHED n

THE TEAB MDCCCLXXVnL

PUBLICATIONS

THE FOLK-LORE 80CIETT.

IIL

• • • • •

• • • • •• •

• • ••• • • "(

• • • • • • •

• • • • • •

.:•..•

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154910

THE

FOLK-XOEE EECOED,

VOL. IL

CONTAINING

PREFACE.

THE NEO-LATIN FAY. By Henby Chables Coote, F.S.A.

MAI^AGASr FOLK-LORE AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. By the

Reyerend James Sibbee, Jnn.
POPULAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO. By Jambs Habdy.
OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE. By Jambs Napieb.
A NOTE ON THE « WHITE PATERNOSTER." By Miss Evelyn

Cabbinoton.
SOME FOLK-LORE FROM CHAUCER. By the Reverend p. G. Fleay.

REPRINTS, &c.

FOUR TRANSCRIPTS by the late Thomas Wbight, F.S.A. Com-
municated by William J. Thoms, F.S.A.
THE STORY OF CONN-EDA ; OR, THE GOLDEN APPLES OF
LOUGH ERNE. Communicated bv Henby Chables Coote, F.S.A.

NOTES.

QUERIES.

NOTICES AND NEWS.

INDEX TO VOLS. I. and n.

APPENDIX ; THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1878.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY,

BY MESSRS. NICHOLS & SONS,

26, Pabliament Stbbet, Westminstbb, S.W.

1879.

PEEFACE.

1 HAVE been asked to eonti'ibiite a preface to the Folk-Lore
Heiiord, and regret that want of time for due preparation pre-
veuts me from writing anytking at all complete or adequate
about the objects of the Society. Compelled to be brief, I must
select one or two points on which I have already written with,
perhaps, damnable iteration. The readers of the Record must
pardon me if, like the nai'rators of tlie fairy stories we collect
iind study, I tell a twice-told tale.

The science of Folk-Lore examines tlie tilings that are the
oldest, and most permanent, and most widely distributed, in
human institutions. It is not meant, of course, that every
caprice of rural or social superstition is old, and permanent, and
widely distributed. I have never heard that cannibals scruple
to dine when there are thirteen in company ; or that Assyrians,
Egyptians, and Andaman islanders, think it a perilous thing
to walk under a ladder. It is not even in every English county
that the robin redbreast's appearance in a house is a sign of
approaching death, and very probably Spajiish peasants do not
hold, like the Scotch, that the yellowhammer " drinks a drop
of tlie deil'a blood every May morning." But, setting asiido

VOL. II b

the acciidents of folk-lore, we find llie great niaas of the mor^l
eBseiitial popular euBtoma and beliefs esfsting in almost identical I
shape, among peoples modern and ancient, peoples barbarous andl
civilized, peoples of the eastern and the western hemispheres, and I
of the Australian continent. Let me give two or three exampleSj.l
chosen at random, of the singularly wide distribution of certaitl4
practices. In the Dionysiac mysteries the ancient Greeks were ■
accustomed to daub their naked bodies over with clay and dirt ; this
was part of the ritual, and, to explain a custom wJiicli seemed
senseless, the initiators told a puerile story ahout Bacchus and
the pirates. This same custom of daubing young neophytes all
over with dirt is part of that rite which, among Australian black
fellows and among certain African tribes, answers roughly to
confirmation in the Christian Church. Will any one say that
the dirty practice of the Greeks was an invention of their own
civilisation, and that black fellows and negroes retain this, and
not much else, from a culture which they once shared with
Aryans ? Or is it not more probable tliat a rite, originally
savage, was not discarded by the Greeks as they passed from
savagery to civilisation ? This example has not, to my know-
ledge, any counterpart in modem folk-lore. Let us take
another instance. French and Scotch peasants are or were in
the habit of burning the bed on which a patient died, of spread-
ing the ashes smooth on the floor, and of examining these next
day to see whether the revenant of the dead had marked them
with his feet. An inspector of natives in Australia (who does
not seem ever to have heard of the Scotch and French super-
stition) found Australians carefully smoothing sand round the
grave of a tribesman, and watching every morning for the print
ofhis ghostly tread. Now here,we may say with some confidence,
is an instance of a savage belief perpetuated in Europe among
Catholic and Presbyterian peasants just as a savage rite was
|)erpetuated by civilised and religious Greeks.

These two examplea must stand as too scanty proof of tlie asser-
tion tliat the folk-lore of civilized is often idontical with the super-
stitions of savage races, and that superstitious practices are among
the most widely and evenly disti-ibuted of human institutions. Now
when we find widely and evenly distributed on the earth's surface
the rude flint tools of men, we regard these as the oldest cxani])le9
of human skill. Are we not equally justified in regardiug the
widely and evenly distributed beliefs in ghosts, kelpies, fairies,
wild women of the forests (which ai'e precisely the same in Brit-
tany as in New Caledonia), as among the oldest examples of the
working of human fancy? And, to go a step further, is not the
nuraery-tale which you find among Celts, Germans, Basques,
Bechuanas, Aztecs, and Egyptians, obviously a relic of human
imagination, constructed in an age when people now civilised were
in the same intellectual condition as people still savage ? The flint
aiTow-head picked up from a British camp is like that which is
burietl with an Algonquin chief, or which is discovered in Egyp-
tian soil, or on the plain of Marathon, or which tips the reed of a
modern Samoyed. Again, the popular tales of modern Samoyeda
are often obviously related lit plot and incident to, and identical
in tone and style with, those which are deciphered from Egyptian
papyri, or are imbedded in the Vedas, or are collected from the
lips of Basques in the Pyrenees, Germans in the Black Forest,
Celts in Barra, Zulus by the Buffalo River. It is a common
error to suppose that, because a tale is found in the Veda, the
Veda is its original source. But, in point of fact, tlie Veda is
only the oldest literari/ document in which we meet the tale.
It probably existed long before the Vedaic age, just as the story
of Cupid and Psyche is older than Apuleius, or the Slack Hull
o' Norroway older than Sidney's Arcadia. The Vedaic priests
and minstrels found and used a pre-existent tale, just as the
country people at Bristol explain the tower, called " Cook's
Folly," by a story at least as old as the time of Hhamses II,

To return to the analogy of the arrow-lieads, how la the
essential identity in form of the British, the Red Indian, tlie
Greek, the Egyptian flint arrow-head, explained V Obviously
by the simple faet that on English, American, Greek, and
Egyptian soil there once existed races as simple, and as neces-
sarily driven to the use of stone implements, aa are the modern
savages, wlio still use tools of flint. No one will say that
people, after acquiring the art of using metals, will prefer to
resort as a general rule to the employment of stone. No ; the
arrow-heads in the ground attest the ancient presence of baj--
barisni on Greek, English, and Egyptian soil. Let us turn
again to the fairy tales. I am anxious to make out a parallel
between them and the arrow-heads. I conceive tliat they are
savage and early in character, that in style and type of incident
they bear the marks of savage fancy as clearly as the arrow-
head bears tlie marks of the rude stouo hauimer. And I con-
clude that many popular tales among Greeks, ancient and I
modern, Egyptians, Vedic Aryans, Basques, Celts, Germans, ■
are just as plainly relics and survivals of the savage stage of
fancy as the flint arrow-heads in European soil, and the rude
clay pipkins of Celtic graves and of the modern cotters in the
Hebrides, are rehcs and survivals of savage art and manufacture.
When we want to study flint weapons, paleolithic or neo-
lithic, we visit the museums and easily find great store of these
articles. But it is not quite so easy to study savage fairy-lore.
One may recommend the Red Indian legends collected hy
Schoolcraft, the Zulu tales of Callaway, the New Zealand legends
in Sir George Grey's works, the publications of Bleek, and of
the South African Folk-Lore Society. A shorter way is to read
Mr. F. A. Farrer's chapter on " Savage Fairy-Lore " {Primitive
Manners and Customs, Chatto and Windus, 1879), where very
many barbarous fairy stories are pleasantly discussed. These
fietiniis of peoples still rnde are, almost certainly, not inipor-

tatious from European neighbours. Tliey are often iutertwined
with the legends of the pedigree and origin of tho tribe. In
other cases tliey are kept eeiirat and nijaterioua by the least pro-
grossive and cultivated members of the race, the old women.
Again, we may be pretty sure that European collectors have
not much misrepresented the sai-age legends, because each col-
lection lends testimony to the authenticity of the others. Col-
lectors who know nothing of each other bring the same class of
tale from every quarter of the globe. This is a point on which
the reader can only convince himself by examining the collec-
tions. He will find that at! the savage tales have the same
features, of which the most marked is the attribution of speech
and intelligence like that of men to plants, stones, trees, animals,
stars, the sun and the moon. Man's fancy has not yet taken a
distinction between himself and l-he things in the world. All
nature exists in his cousciousnef^s, and his consciousness In
nature, in a confused nebulous way. In savage tales the sun
sits by the roadside and takes a wife ; the frog goes a-wooing ;
the galaxy is a handful of ashes thrown up into the sky by a
girl ; the Pleiades among the Tasmanians were mortal girls ;
the Eskimo say that "some of the stars have been men, and
others different sorts of fishes and animals." Now tliis same
confusion of fancy actually exists among contemporary savages.
They address bears, beavers, and lizards, as if they could be
heard and answered. Their whole family laws turn on the
theory that they are descended from animals and plants.

Turn now t*) modern European marclten, those collected in
Russia, the West Highlands, Germany, Brittany, everywhere.
Do not the animals and inanimate things play the same familial'
part, as protectors, enemies, friends, walking and talking with
men ? Again, does not classical mythology, as in the Meta-
morphoses of Ovid, make Callisto a bear, and the bear a star,
and another bear the ancestor of the Arcadians, wJiilo an aspara-

giis plant was Uie ancestreaa of an Athenian yevoi? Do not
wooil-worme and ravens talk to Melanipiis as familiarly as does
the mantis to characters in Bushman folk-lore? Is not the
Greek mythology, from the maiming of Uranus (as savage as
anything in New Zealand legend) to tlio tale of Cujiid and Psyche
(which is found among the Zulus), a confused tissue of barharous
invention underlying the delicate embroidery of true Greek
fancy ? It is to account for this ferocity of incident, for cruelties,
incest, and patent absurdities, that the solar theory chiefly
exists. Is it not simpler to say these absurdities and horrors
are survivals of savage fancy, of a stage of fancy which still
exists, and, where it exists, produces stories as like Greek myths
as neolithic ai-e like paljeolithic instruments ?

I would willingly go on from the discussing this mark of
savage faucy to discuss the incidents of the tales of conteraporaiy
barbarous races. We should find, first, that they are generally
fanciful explanations of something in nature that excited curiosity ;
secondj that they introduce the manners of savage life, especially
the taboo, which forbids all manner of innocent acts under
mysterious supernatural penalties. Then one would show this
taboo in modern fairy tales and ancient mythology. It was
for breaking a taboo that Psyche lost CupiJ, Urvasi lier lovers,
the Scotch lassie lost the Brown Bull o' Norroway, and Eve, —
Paradise. A dozen other examples might be given, and the
explanatory craze might be traced; but for that part of the
subject it is enough to refer to Mr. Farrer's book, already
cited. I must cite an essay of my own for facts about another
branch of this inquiry. I have tried to prove {Fortnightly
Review, May 1873) that savage germs of classical myths exist,
in a wild and barbarous form, among non-Aryan races, and to
demonstrate that the savage is the older not the later form of
the myth.

Brieflv staled, the view of folk-lore here suggested is this.

Man started from a savage origin, in a savage state he gave liia
fancy free play, and devised many curious and cumbrous rites,
As lie rose to civilisation he never wliolly laid aside anything
he had once acquired. His barbarous legends were polished
into epics and national traditions, his rude ritual became the
basis of a more polished cult. But all men did not advaneo
with equal rapidity, and the peasant class retained something
very much nearer the old savage legends than the cultivated
and elaborate myths. These peasant legends survived as mdrchen
in the mouths of old nurses, and even now, while they often
resemble in plot and incident the greater myths of Greece,
retain a still closer likeness to the legends of Zulus and Bech-
uanas.

If this view bo correct (and it is supported by the comparative
study of savage and civilised proverbs), the germ of Greek and
other gi-eat mythologies is to be sought in the known qualities of
the savage fancy, and in the habits of the savage mind, uotln a
fancied stage of society in which everybody spoke allegorieally
about the sun and the clouds, and then forgot the meaning of
what he had said. If opponents of this theory do not deny that
men passed through the savage stage we must ask them if they
think it probable that the savage imaginative data were ever
wholly laid aside, and, if so, at what time F

The purpose of this hurried sketch will have been fulfilled if
it induces students of folk-lore to make anthropology part of
their method. Folk-lore is the study of survivals, and possibly
there is no stage of human experience, however early and in-
complete, from which something in our institutions does not
still survive. The theoiy above stated comes to this : men of
every race started from an original condition of reckless fancy,
to which all combinations and incidents seemed fit for ima-
ginative art. They also started, in the region of morals, from
barbarism. As men advanced, and became differou tinted into

Vlll

PREFACE.

what we call races, the primitive data of savage fancy were
also differentiated. But the religious instinct preserved so
much of the old material that even Greek mythology retained
many points identical with savage legend.

A. LANG.

THE NEO-LATIN FAY.

HERE was in archaic Italy a race of immortal damsels,
whom the old natives — the Prtsci Latini at least — agreed

ERRATUM.

In page 3, line 20, for - They were neglected, or perhaps
avoided, by the free and easy society of the Hellenic Pantheon "
read " They were neglected by, or perhaps avoided, the free and
easy society," &c.

\ —

* Donatns, the grammarian ana commoui
a note to the Ennnchns (Act 5, sc. 9, in Westerhoyias's edition of Terence, re-
printed in 1830, Leipzig, p. 233), says, '* A fando fatnns dicitor. Inde Fauni
Fatui, et nymphae Fatuae dictae sunt .... Nam Fanni qaoqne Dii smit "
In the Frankfort edition by Lindenbrogins, 1623, p. 20, only tiie following
passage is given: '* Nam Fatal qaoqne Dii sant, qni et Faani dicontnr." Macro-
bias says the Fatnae were called Fannae also (Sat. lib. i. c. 12). One of the
oldest Latin folk-stories made the first Fataa to be the sister and wife of King
Fannns, himself the first of the Fanns (Lactantios, de falsa religione, lib. i.)
See 2X90 post the quotation from Marcianus Capella.

t The medial " t," in accordance with a law of Celtic phonetics, being elided,
the word ^* fee " has been formed.

VOL. II. B

2 TUE NEO-LATIN FAY.

docl of the mythology once prevalent in the Italian mother conntiy
and her colonies.

The Fatuae were heantiful and ever yonng. They were immortal,
or at least so long of life that poor transient mortals in their restricted
mental grasp eonld scantlj realise the difference between such longo-
■vity and complete eternity.

They lived on earth, but in places inaccessible to man, near lakes,
woods, and fountains, in natural eaves, whose beauly can only be
appreciated by those whose lot is cast in the warm lands, where cool
retirement Is a boon.

Bnt, though this seclnaion protected them from the voluntary in-
trusion of man, the Fatuae did not always deny themselves his society.
There were occasions when they exhibited to him their matchless
beauty; at times rejecting their own Falui, they admitted man to a
blissful consortium.

They had unlimited powers of injuring mankind ; bnt for tliis we
must suppose a reasonable and sufficient provocation.*

Egeria may be taken as a type of the Fatuae, her sisters. She is
a nymph with some of the Roman Folk-Iorists, a goddess with others,
virtually the same state of existence.

She lives done in a cavern, out of which flows a rivolet, the cavern
being in a wood on a height in Latium. Shu falls in love with king

' Marcianna Capolla, lil). ii. p. 45, Eyasenhardt'a edition; "Ipsam qaoqae
tevram, qoa hominihos invia CBt, referciont longaevonim tliori, qui habitant
Bilvaa neraom Incos lacns fontee ac flnvioB, appellantorque Panes Paani Fontes
Sfttjri Silvani Njmphao Fatni Fatnaoque vel Fantnae vel etiam Fonae a qnibns
fana dicta sunt qnod Solent diTiiiare, Hi omuea post protixnm actiun mnri-
untnr nt homines, Bed tamen ct praesciendi et incursandi et nocendl habent
praesentiaBlmam poteatatom." Whutt Tlberlna placed his imitation njmphB in
the island of Capri the; emei^ed to the gaze of the spectatiire from " cares and
hnllow rocks " (Snct. vit. Tiber, lib. 3). The perfect immortality of the FatoBB
Is shown in the application of the name " dea '' bo Kgeria ; see jfost. The Latin
□erne for those who had become mad with love on seeing a Fafua, generally
reflected in a fountain, was lymphatievs. Sextas PompeiaB rcstna (snb voce
hjmphae) Bays," Ljinphao dictae snnt a ajrophia, vulgoantenaniomoriaBproditnin
est, qnicunque speeiem qnandam e fontc, id est eSigieni nymphae, ytderint,
furtndi non fecisse Eaem. Quoa Graeci tufiphnrriM appellant."

Tltli NKO-LATIN l''AY. 3

Nnma, and admits him nightly to wise and charming converse,
nnseen hy mortals.

Her wisdom apart, she is Calypso withont her island. But her
lover, unlike the fickle Greek, is constant and grateful."

When Greece imported her cnlture, her poetry, and her folk-tales
into old Italy, the Italians recognised in the Greek nymphs their own
Fatuae, siich as I have described them. The only novelty which the
Greek nymph exhibited to them was her island. In that one par-
ticular the Hellenic love of navigation made an interesting, though
non-essential, deviation. The island was thus to become an incident
even of Italian folk-lore. The nymph was now to have her abode in
a cave in an island as before it had been on a height.

Of the Greek nymphs generally, wc Lave full knowledge. They
were a brevet race of immortal women, the daughters of gods and
goddesses, for whom no special employment could be found in tho
official government of the world and the heavens.

They were perennially young and beautiful, but left to lead a lotus-
eating life of vacuous enjoyment, save only when the calm was
broken by love-making, or the revenge which sometimes followed it.

They were neglected, or perhaps avoided, by the free-and-easy
society of the Hellenic Pantheon. f As they brooded in solitndc over
beauties to which display was denied, can it be wondered at that their
hearts in search of sympathy turned sometimes towards mere mortal
man ? Nymphs, therefore, would sometimes descend to fall in love
with heroes, and to entertain them in their sacred abodes, endowing
them during their sojourn with their own perennity.f

* Liv. lib. 1, c. 19; " Simnlat (i.«.,Niima) aibi com dea, Egeria congressOE
nottnmoB esse." Acron [Cammentarii in, (j. Horatiiim Flacciim, Havthal's
edition, Tot. ii. p. 611) saya, "Egeria nympha dicebatnr loqni cum Nnma
Pompilio in Albano monto." So Seitns Pompeins Featua (da verbomni signi-
flcatione), a professed antiqnarj, bbjb, " Egoria njmphB." Lactantins (de falsa
raligione, lib. i.), who, like other Latin fatherB, knew the folk-lote of his
conntry well, calls her " doa," and says Nnma met her nightly iu a dark cavern
in a wood, and that out of the caTcm flowed a never-failing stream. There ia
Eomc meaning in thie last mentioned feature.

f See Caljpso'a speech to Herraea (Odysa. lib. v. y. US ct teqq).

t Odjas. lib. v. T. 120, et SKqq. Koa loved Orion in Ortjgia. Demeler laved

4 THE NEO-LATIN FAT.

Bnt these ficfele, hollow-hearted mortals too often showed ttera-
selTCB niiwortliy of an immortal's lovo and of a share in her immor -
tality. In the presence of divine beauty and preternatural culture
they sighed for terrestial and transitory charms, perhaps long since
lost. They therefore returned to the inhabited earth, and upon the
renewal of its degrading contact felt the sad reim position of enspeDded
years.

The Greek nymphs had an anlimited power of changing themselres
and others into any animal or object in nature. So Nemesis, when
persecuted by Zens with his unacceptable love, transformed herself
into any fish that the ocean engendered, or any beast that the vast
continent could produce.' So Thetis, scorning her human suitor,
Peleus, who was forced upon her by the selfish policy of Zeus, tried
precisely the same self-mutations, but equally in vain.'l'

Of this beautiful caste Calypso is the loveliest representatiye. Her-
self and her island were each a chef-iCtetivre.

When Paganism received its blow all of it did not perish. Much
of the minor machinery still held out against the new religion, or, pcr-

JsBon. Odysgena wooM have been immortal and ever yonng if he hod only
remaiaad with Calypso (v. 135 et »cj.).

" Ti, fii, (}>* f,Xtii n xzi trftfn, liJl tfiuiHi

Id the TaUgonia (Welalier'B Der Epiachc Oydvs, vol, ii. p. 644) Circe madfl
TelemacliiiB and Feaelope immortal, and tlieu married Telemschus, letting bee
aoD Telegonna wed Penelope (" li ti avriui i3«Mr«Bi ■■•iir, m) ruHmiT n /»"
n»iXi<ni Ti;ii}'>Mt, Ki;i<i !> Tit.ifiXX'f ")

* "Welcher'B D&r Epuche CyeUn (vol. ii., p. E13). Ho qootes a passage in
tlie Eypria ont of AthenueuB (7). It ia a very good specimen of the power uf
writing of tie Cyclic poota.

t Boe the authorities qnoitd by Paley in his Som^H quae nnnr^ extant an
reliquii Cyoli carminibui antiqaiora jure kabita lint (at note 1, p. 15). He
Bays, " Mortttli nnbere catD noUet Thetis in varioa se focmaa mutavit." Circe's
power of trauBfigarating her lovers requires no reference.

THE NEO-LATIN FAY. 5

haps, much of ivhat was graceful only was compassioiiatelj peiinitteJ
to Biirvive. Among the idealisms thus favoured with continued lifu
the Fatvae were the most prominent. Under their old name, to be
afterwards softened to Fate, they still retained their ancient iufluence
over the Latin mind.

That this is the stat« of the case as regards the Fays is easily de-
monstrable from their own evidence.

They are beautiful, ever young, and immortal.

Each one lives alone, or in the midst of maidens, her ministers,
inferior to her only in beauty, but equally young and immortal.

Each lives in a palace situate in some inaccessible countiy, or con-
cealed from human eyes by glamour,* or in some island of the ocean
unknown to scientific geography, and always unapproachable save
through the guidance of herself or some special commissioner of her

No male relative is at hand to influence and control her.

Being young and beautiful her heart is as emotional as such a com-
bination should make it, and she is susceptible of love towards even a
hnman, whenever the world produces such an one as may warrant that

The husband thus selected is carried off by the gracious immortal
to her own happy abode. There he passes years shorter than
moments. There he participates in the youth and immortality which
are the capital of his young and immortal wife. But in that island
only, and in the presence only of the Fay, can be retain these precious
gifts. He may live there, if he be only constant, until the crack of
doom, as perennial as his mistress.

But, alas ! as all rules are best proved by their exceptions, some
discontented sybarites, whom a folded rose-leaf will disturb, have
sought permission to quit even this fulness of delight, ami by return-
ing to earth they have forfeited the charter by which they enjoyed it.

The Fays have supernatural powers. They can turn an offender

* Snob aa tbe abode of the Laily of the Lako (see Keiglitlej's Fah-y
Jltj/t/ielfliiy, vol. i. p. r.l).

6 THE NEO-LATIN FAY.

into any shape tliat will most degrade or punish him. Equnlly they
can change themaelveB at will.

This is the general status and condition of Fays.

But though the mediteval Fay has a palace for her fixed abode she
still, for Bome pui'poseB, adheres to the cave which had been ths
appanage of the Latin Fatua, or the Greek nymph. It ia, howeTcr,
au occaaional resort only, not a iixed hahitation, as it had been to
Egeria and Calypso."

There is one other characteristic of the Fay which deserves con-
sideration — her faculty of prescience. The mediieval Fay has been
60 coustantly represented in the embroidered stories of Perrault and
hia countrywomen as controlling the destiny of individuals by endow-
ing them with properties beyond what nature has given them, and by
ensuring them inordinate wealth and worldly success, that the
theorists who have held them to be the Latin Fata have had some
excuse for their opinion. But, for all this, the approximation of the
Fays to the Fates is without a rea! foundation. t The Fatuae, as being
part of a well-organised Pantheon, could never have thus interfered
with the functions of the Parcae, who alone of all goddesses could
shape destinies. The Fiitaae had foreknowledge of events, and could
foretell them. J That probably led to the origual confusion, which
was increased afterwards by the correspondence of the names. 80
also Calypso foreknew each trial that was in store for OdjBseuB,§
though she warned him only in general terms of the consequences
which would attend his foolish election to leave one so fair jn order
to stretch himself again upon the raok -of this roagh world.

• In La Qatta CcnBrentala {Pent, first day, aixth taJe) the fay of the island
of Sordinin, yonng and moBt beautiful, lices in a cavern or resortB ta one. In
cAe riDio(Comparetti,Ho. i8),the/a(e, thongh they hate apalace.rasortto

t EvenM. Loys Brnyfre (^Contes PopvUirei da la Grande Bretagne, Intro-
dnction, p. il.) has given to thia theory the snpport of hia eminent anthority.

J Mftrcianos Capella {ante) attributes a general foreknowledge to nil Fatuae.
LaetantinB (da falsa religione, lib. i.) Bays that Fatua, the wife of Faunus, fore-
told to women flieir fates (maliciibua ata ca

g OdjBB. lib. V. V. 206, et seq.

THE NEO-LATIN FAY. 7

There was nn old Latin tradition that besides the Fatuae there were
Fattii also. This belief, though never very popular, was not forgotten
in Italy when Basile wrote, and it still lingers in Sicily. The male
Fay was and is called Fafo* He eeems never to have been mnch of
a faTOurite either with humanity or his own female counterparts.
We know that in Horace's time the nymphs fled from the Fauna— in
other words, the Fatui—fov tliey were the same heings.f

Beings such as these Fatuae, nymphs, fate, susceptible, constant,
beautiful — the dream of graceful intellects — have no point of contact
with the Teutonic and Scandinavian elves, multitadinoue, gregarious,
homely, and vulgar, squalid in habits, and mischievous rather than
powerful.

The natm-e and traditions of the Fays repngn all ascription to this
coarse source, and my preceding remarks have, I think, sufficiently
shown that Ariosto was right when, following the traditions of his
country, be identified them with the nymphs of antiquity. J

Before laying before the reader tbe two folk -tales with which it is
my special object to make him acquainted as illQstrating remarkably
the identity of the Fay with the Falua, I will first briefly recapitulate
the better known stories of Ogier, Partenopex, Lanva!, Graelent, and
yii' Gawayne, which all bear on the same point.

Ogier is attracted to the isle of Avalon through the irresistible
powers of Morgan the Fay, who loves him for his chivalrj.§ She
espouses and rejuvenates him, first placing him under a spell which
will make him forget family, friends, and country. He lives on in her
palace, in the midst of Fay-ladies (^dameg faces') who attend upon her
and him, A year of the life he thus leads is less than a month to
another man. One day Morgan removes the spell, and memory
rushes in upon him. Ogier desires to return to earth once more to

* See the Penfamerenc and also Pitre.

t Lib. iii. Od. xviii. : " FannB nympharum fngieotnm ait

t Canto 1, — Dai cinqne ngginnti al FurioBo;- —

" Qneatfi cL'or fate dagli nntichi foro,
Gia dette rdof e e dee con pin bel nom
§ Keiglilloy'B Fah-}/ Idythelegy, vol. L, p. 7*, et tegg.

e THE NEO-LATIN FAY.

chaetiBo the infidels, who nro ravaging Prance. Morgan grants the
permission, and lends him an enchanted horse upon which to make
the journey. As Ogier stoys too long away, and is taking advantage
of his rejuvenescence to marry a. young earthly bride, Morgan proceeds
to the spot, and takes him back to Avalon, whence he has never since
returned. We have here CalypBo'e island, and we shall soon meet
again the magic horse, which facilitates the return of the fickle lovei
to earth.

In the romance of Partenopei of Blois the Fay Malior carries off
the hero to an island, where he henceforth lives in entire felicity, and

So it h with Lanval and Graelent, who are both relegated to the
same enviable and insular life, each with a Fay-I"

80 Gawayne married a Fay, and was carried away by her into
" faerie," or the land of Fays.f This ix the older and better legend,
which Sir Thomas Mallory has ignored altogether. The talc of the
Fata Collina, so charmingly told by Professor Comparetti in his
incomparable collection of the folk-tales of Italy, recites the same
Calypso-like story, in this instance, however, ending happily. §

The two folk-tales which, as I have intimated, it is my intention to
invoke, are the one French, the other Italian.

Tlie French story ia, I venture to think, though it was published a
century and a half ago, unknown in this eonntry. The Italian has

• Keightley, ante, p. id.

t Poeaiet de Marie He France (Roqnofort), Lai dc Lanval, p, 202, et teq.
Lai de Graelent, p. 486, et teq.

{ It ia a curiona circamstance that we bave not this story in a perfect form.
We haTe the two parts only which together help to make np the whole. There
ia a. ballad which recoanta the marriage of Sir Gawayne to the Fay, and no mare.
(See Dr. Percy's folio, edited byMeserB. Hales and Fumival, vol. i. p. J03,«((e?.)
Bat Sir Gawayno's retirement with hia wife into Fairyland is referred to by
ChBDcer only (_The Sqmerei Tale) :—

" That Gaweyn with his olde coartesye,

" They be were come again ont of fajrie," J£c.

§ See ft paper in the Fulk-Lore Heeord, vol. i. intituled " Some Italian folk-

THE NEO-I^ATIN FAY, i)

only recently been committed to writing. Both are aubstantially
identical, notably so in the touching manner in which they recount the
fate of the inconstant wretch who could tire of perennial beanty, even
though his own asaurance of immortality was conditioned on his
fidelity.

The French tale is contained in a novel of Madame d'Aulnoy,
entitled Histoire (CHypolite Comte de Douglae, and occnrs in the
second part."

A gentleman, who has disguised himself as an artist's assistant, is
called upon by a gay French abbess to amuse her while his master is
engaged upon her portrait, and he complies with the request by telling
her the following " conte approchattt de ceux dee/e'es."

A young king of Russia," named Adolphus, having aucceasfully ter-
minated a war with some neighbouring people, who are strangely
called Muscovites, devotes himself to bear-hunting. At the close of
one day, whilst separated from his companions, he is overtaken by a
terrific tempest. After longwandering through the deepening glooro,
he discovers a light at a distance, and finds, on approaching, that it
issues from a cavern at the foot of a high mountain. He hesitates at
first, but, as the souls of princes have something nobler and pronder
than those of other men, he enters, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
At the noise he makes on entering, a very old woman appears from
the depth of the rock. She shows an estreme astonishment, saying,
'' Do you know. Sir, who lives here ? " " No," said the king ; " I do
not." " This is the abode of jEoIus, king of the winds, and his chil-
dren," is the reply. " I am their mother. They are all out now,
each occupied in his own way, doing good or doing harm in the
world."

Hereupon the West Wind comes in, and blows up the fire. After
liim drop in jEolua and most of the other winds. They are all wet
through ; their checks are puffed out, and their hair disordered. Their
manners were rough and uncivil, and when they spoke to the King of
linssia they nearly froze him. They were recounting each one his
day's work of destruction, when their motlier interrupted thcin, asking
• I quote a BniBBeU edition of 1713 (p. 20(>, li scgq).

THE NEO-LATIN FXX.

them if they had met their brother Zephyraa on the roftd. ThereupM
the latter, who ia a very beavitiful youth, arrives, and escnscs his delay^
by explaining to his mother that he had been all day in the garden
of the PrincesH Felicity, a most lovely and enchanting peraon by hit
description.

"In what country does fiho live ?" asks the king. " In the island
of Felicity," ansvrerfi Zephyr. The whole party then retire to rest,
the king with Zephyr, who has the cleanest and least cold part of tho
cavern. The king, however, is so overcome with the description of J
the lady, that Zephyr yields to his importunities, and consents to'f
carry him next day through the air, and drop him npon the island, i
Zephyr, besides the promise, gives him a cloak green on one side,
which will render him invisible if he turns the green on the outside.

Zephyr and the king start early the next morning, and before the
end of the day the king descends upon the island, with his cloak
turned on the green side. The princess is living in a magnificent
palace, attended only by beautiful and accomplished ladies, the eldest
1 is only eighteen years of age.

The king effects his entrance into the palace, and finally diecoverci
himself to the princess, who takes him fur the phfenix. She accepts
him for her husband, and they thenceforth pnss a time of nnsurpass-
altle happiness, when suddenly the king takes to considering how long
1 the island. " A week," he says, if he consults his
heart, but his memory says three months. The princess tolls him, with
a laugh, that he has been there three hundred years. The ungrateful
world, and the princess reluctantly gives
her consent, for she has a sorrowful foreboding that the parting is for
ever. She gives him magnificent arms and a horse, and warns him
not to set foot to the earth until he shall have reached his own
country.

He promises everything and starts. His fairy horse takes him through

the ocean, and over every intervening land with winged speed, without

stopping or resting. One evening the king and his horse arrived at

ff stony lane fenced with thorns. There they found their way

blocked by a cart npset across it. The cart was laden vrith old worn-

THE NEO-LATIN FAY.

out winga, and the driver, an old man, was lying under it. The king
was about to turn away and leap the hedge, when the old man
implored hia assistance. The king alighted from the horse to go to
hie assistance, when suddenly the old man rose up of himself and
seized the king. " At last, Prince of Eussia," said he, in a terrible
voice, " I have found you. My name is Time. I have worn out all
the wings that this cart is loaded with in going round the world in
search of you, hut now I have you." With these words he put hia
hand on the king's mouth and stifled him. Just at this moment
Zephrjrns fiew hy, and seeing his friend in this sad condition he
endeavoured to restore him to life, but in vain. He flew away with
him to the island of Happiness, where the princess was equally
powerless to undo the work of time. Henceforth the island was no
longer worthy of its name.

There can be no doubt that this is a genuine folk-tale of France.
In the countess's days French folk-lore was in viWi^t observantia.
There was a floating unwritten corpus of romance more or less acces-
sible to every family connected with the rural districts of France, and
in this she found the materials of her " He de Felicite." A port of
the tale as it still existed in Brittany in popular tradition was taken
down in writing at the end of the last century. For in a book quoted
by the learned Hev, Edward Davies as " Voyage dans le Finisterre
en 1794 et 1795," there occurs a tale, stated to be oral, which may
be briefed as follows : —

" The young son of a prince of St. Pol de Leon, while wandering
alone upon the seashore, is overtaken by a tempest. He repairs for
shelter to a cavern, which proves to he inhabited by the goddess of
nature. Her sons, the winds, enter. Under their influence the child's
limhs become mortally cold. But, as repose is not made for them,
they rush out again, and Zephyr, her spoiled child, enters. Zephyr
afterwards takes np the prince's son and carries him round the world,"
&c. &c. •

Between this passage and the preliminary portion of the countesB's
tale the rescmhlance is striking. The rest of the voyai/eur's story

• Davies's CelUe Beteareh-et, pp. 668 — 560.

THE NEO-LATIN FAY.

is made up of eteBtings from Marcianus Capella, the trhole being a
garbling of a portion of genuine Armorican folk-tale to make
druidical pLilosophj out of it.

What, bowever, is most intQrcsting of all is, that the identical story
told by the countess is still a folk-tale of Italy, and Professor Com-
paretti has for the first time recorded it in a woy which will charm all
readers. It comes from Monferrato, and is No. 50 in his collection of
" Raccouti." It is as follows; —

" There was once a poor widow, who, with her boy, lived in an out-
of-the-way hut. When he was eighteen or twenty years old the son
fiaid to his mother, ' Mammy, I wish to go and seek my fortune, and
I will stay away until I have found it ; and, if I find it, you also shall
he well off.'

The young fellow went away and travelled round the world for a
whole year, But fortune had not found him. One night he entered
a wood, and finding a cottage there, he knocked at the door. An old
man came out, and consented to give him a, lodging for the night.

Next morning the old man asked him what he went seeking for
in those places, and the young man told him. ' My dear boy,' said
the old man, ' Fortune comes once every hundred years, and if she is
not caught then she is not caught again. But mind, to-morrow
evening exactly the hundred years terminate, and she must come.
Thou must be sharp to the very minute at midnight. Thou must
crouch down behind the wood that is upon the bank of the brook.
Three most beautiful girls will come there, and they will undress
themselves for bathing. Look out for their being quite naked, and
then take up the clothes of the one that stands in the middle, and
carry them off. If she wants them, take out the book of command
that is in the pocket, and thou art safe.'

" The young man said yes to all this. But when the night came,
not being accnstoraed to watch, he fell asleep, and the first night he
caught nothing. In the morning he went to the old man and told
him that he had seen nothing. 'But wast thou awake?' 'No.'
' Then if thon art a fool, it is thy own loss.'

The second night was a repetition of the first.

On the third night the old man gave liim a hemp comb, and said

THE NEO-LATIN FAY

to him, ' If sleep comes to thee rub thy back on the comb, and thou
wilt wake up.' And so it was ; for that scratching was Btronger than
sleep ; and when the three girls came the young man was all atten-
tion, and scarcely had they undressed themaelyes, when he forthwith
carries off the clothes of the one who stood in the middle. The other
two dressed themselves and went away. The third had no choice hut
to run after the young man and get her clothes back. He gave them
to her hut kept the book of command, and with that he did what he
wished, and, as he had a wish to marry Fortune, she could not help
bnt marry him.

It happened one day that he was obliged to make a journey. He
locked up the hook in a chest, and said to his mother, ' If my wife
wishes for anything, don't give it to her until I have returned.' No
sooner was he gone than the wife told the mother-in-law that she
wished to go to mass, and wanted the book that was in the chest.
But the mother-in-law would not give it her on any account Then
the wife begged and prayed so hard, that finally the poor mother-in-
taw sent for a blacksmith and made him force open the best Wh i
the book she wished for was given her. Fortune said to the moth n-
law, ' Farewell, farewell ; I am going. If your son w h s to me
and find me, or wishes to hear of me, let him come t the I la d f
Happiness. There nobody ever dies, everybody is happy and y a s
seem minutes.' After a time the son came home, and the mother said
to him, ' Thy wife has gone to the Island of Happiness. If thou
wifihest to find her, go to that country.' The son began to despair,
and to cry out, ' Oh, poor me 1 I shall never see her more.' But
afterwards, when be came to think it over, he said, ' Happen what
may, I will go and seek her.'

Accordingly he journeys along until he comes to a place where
there were robbers, who had a table-cloth that on being spread pro-
dneed food of every kind ; a pair of shoes that being put on went a
hundred miles in a minute ; and a cloak that rendered its wearer in-
visible,

The three robbers said to the young man, ' See, we are disputing
who is to have the one or the other of these things. Act thou as
judge.' He replies, ' I must first see for myself what these are, and

16 THE NEO-LATIM FAY.

" Oistii went into tho care, and met n boaiitlfal daitiBel, after
croGBing the Gtream lived witli her for (as he fancie<!) a fen days,
wished to reyisit the FenianB, obtained consent at last on condition of
not alighting from a white steed with which she furaiBhed him,
stating that it was three hundred years since he came to the cave.
He proceeded till he met a carrier whoso cart, containing a bag of
sand, was upset. He asked Oisin to help him. Unable to raise the
bag with one hand, he alighted, on which the steed fled, leaving him a
withered, decrepit, blind old man.*

In the same volume which contains Mr. Williams's statement is
also a poem entitled Tir na nog (Land of Youth), edited by Mr.
Bryan O'Looney, of Monreel. The original Irish poem is the compo-
sition of Michael Comyn, and was written about a.d. 1749.t But,
though of so late a date, it is none the less valuable as an exponent
of an ancient Gatheliaa folk-tale, the tradition which I have just
stated, and it takes a shape which also is of considerable antiquity,
that of a dialogue between Oisin and S, Patrick, Oisin recounts
to the saint that his father Fionn and his sons and warriors were ont
hunting one day, when there suddenly appeared to them a beautiful
golden-haired young maiden, riding a slender white steed. She tells
Fionn that she has fallen in love with Oisin, and intends taking him
away with her to the land of Youth. She has heard reports of his
prowess and his beauty, and wishes to marry him.

Oisin assents with rapture, though he parts with tears from his father
aad his friends. He mounts the steed with the maiden in front. The
two riders turn their faces due west, and the horse plunges into tho sea.

They finally arrive at the Land of Youth, and Oisin is duly married
to the princess, whose name is Niamh (Niav). He lives ia the island
for three hundred years, and then suddenly bethinks himself he should
like to see Fionn and the Fianna. It is useless to expostulate with
him, and tho princess, who knows what will happen, lends him the
white horse, and warns him thus ; —

* Traniactiom of the Osaianic Societij, vol. iv. pp. 233, 233.
t lb. p. 230.

THE NEO-LATIN FAT.

Remember, OiEiD, wliRt Inm Eayiu);,
If thou lajest foot on leTel grouail,
ThoD shalt not come n)j;aiti for ever
To thia SnD land in which I am myself.

She impresses this warning upon him three times, besides telling
him that the Fenians are all gone, and that Ireland is quite changed
He departs, however, upon the white steed, and arrives safe in Ire-
land, where lie wanders aboat to every resort of his family, hut all to
no purpose. At last he meets with a multitude of men in Glen.i-
Bmole, some of whom are lying under a large slab of marble, which
they are unable to dislodge, Oisin's assistance is asked, and ho gene'
ronsiy gives it. But in leaning over his horse, to take up the stone
with one hand, the girth breaks, and he falls. Straightway the white
horse fled away on his way home, and Oisin became aged, decrepit,
and blind.*

Kennedy in his Legendary Fictiojis of the Irish Celts has a tale
called the " Old age of Oisin," f which is on all fours with Michael
Comyn's poem. The curious incident of the overturned cart, con-
tained in the tradition as recorded by Mr. Williams, as well as in the
French and Italian stories, is, however, omitted by Mr, Kennedy,
equally as it is in the Irish poem.

That the Irish version is very ancient cannot be doubted. It is in-
separably attached, as wo have seen, to an untrodden and wild loca-
lity — an unerring evidence of antiquity. It is moreover ascribed to a
chief personage of the Fenian cyclus — the oldest form of the poetry
and tradition of Ireland.

These two circumstances are wholly inconsistent with its being; an
importation from France in the shape of a translation out of Hypolite
Comte de Duglas. Ireland has her own native version of Feau d'dne —
the princess Catskinf — without owing anything to France for it.
Why then should she be under an obligation to that country for her
fonn of the " Island of Happiness ? "

■ Ti-aniactinHs of the Otsiamc Soeiety, vol. iv. pp. 23i— 270.
t P. 240 et teq.

% ThisloEglost folk-tale of Ireland, made famous by Oliver Goldsmith's all a-
aion to it in the Viaar pf Wakefield, has been recovered by Mr, Patrick
VOL. II. O

18 THte NEO-LAtiN FAY.

All things considered, there is no reason why the folk-tale of " Tir
na nog " shonld not be as old as the original story of the island of
loving, rejuvenating Calypso, or older still — a part of that light, in-
tellectual baggage which the Aryans carried with them out of India
into Europe.

HENRY CHARLES COOTE.

Kennedy, and is to be found in his Fireside Stories of Ireland. The public of
the three kingdoms is under an obligation to Mr. Kennedy for this and his
cognate book, the Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts. Both were wanted,
and both are excellently well done. Groldsmith's other allusion, viz., to << Kaul
Dereg/' though somewhat mysterious to Englishmen, is well understood in
Ireland.

MALAGASY FOLK-LOEE AND POPULAB
SUPEESTITIONS.

j|HE Folk-Lore of the various tribes inhabiting Madagascar
. ijeeu ac yet but slightly studied, anU no onu has up to
the present time made any systematic esamination of the
iona superstitious beliefs which are found in the island.
But as there exists a considerable amount of information on these
points scattered through different books — notes of journeys, mJscel-
lancoua pamphlets, and magazines published only in Madagascar —
which are quite inaccessible to the general reader, it will perhaps he
worth while to collect these together in the present paper, in the
3 that attention may be directed to the subject, and that those
who reside in the island may be led to inquire more minutely into
the noteworthy facts which still inyita research.

That there is reason to suspect the existence of much more that is
cnrions in Folk-Lore may be inferred from the fact that -srithin the
last throe or four years a largo number of most interesting Folk~Talea
have been discovered, of the existence of which, for the most part, we
who had resided in the country for several years had no suspicion.
But, as these Folk-Tales aro sufGciently important to require a separate
paper to themselves, we shall not refer to them now, but endeavoiir,
by grouping our information under various heads, to show how much
there is of interest in the Folk-Lore, properly so called. And, as this
is closely connected with the primitive religious beliefs of the Mala-
gasy tribes, a second paper might be hereafter supplied giving various
particulars as to the idolatry and religious beliefs and practices of the
people of Madagascar, and the notions they entertain about a
Sapieme B«ng.

MALAGASY FOLK-LOEE

1. — Aniviala.

It may, perhaps, be convenient to commence by describing some of
the superstitions which exist among the Malagasy as connected with
animals.

As is the ca»e ahnost thronghout the world, serpents are held in
great dread, although, unlike most tropical countries, Madagascar is
singularly iree from noxious reptiles of this order. In the greater
part of the interior there are no venomous snakes, and there are pro-
bably only two or three species at most which are harmfnl in the
warmer coast plains. But curiously enough, with this dislike of the
reptile there exists also, as in other countries again, a belief in its
conuection with the healing art ; for one of the chief idols of the
central province, which was the god of healing and of medicine, was
held also to be the patron of serpents, and to be able to employ them
as the agents of his anger should any one become obnoxious to him.
And so, when this idol, Hamiihavaly, was carried abroad, his attendants
used each of them to carry a serpent in his hand, which, as it writhed
and twined about him, inspired terror in the beholders,

There is a curious belief about a species of serpent called marolbngo,
which inhabits the mounds made by a white ant called vitsikhmho,
Mr. Grainge, in his notes of a yisit to the North-west Coast, says :
" We noticed a large unmber of earthen mounds, varying from one
to two-and-a-half feet in height ; these were the nest of a large ant,
credited by the people with uncommon sagacity. We were told that
they make regular snake-traps in the lower part of these nests, easy
enough for the snake to enter, bat impossible for it to get out of.
When one is caught the ants are said to treat it with great care,
bringing it an abundant and regular sapply of food until it becomes
fat enough for their purpose ; and then, according to native belief, it
is killed and eaten by them." " There is no doubt," says another
resident (Rev, R. Toy), " that the belief is most universal among the
natives, I have been assured most confidently over and over again
that it is a fact that snakes are kept and fattened by the ants
as above described."

A mach more formidable reptile in Madagascar than the serpent ie

ASD POPULAR SCPEHSTITIONS,

tlie crocoiliU, which awarms in every river and lake, and is not a little
destructive to humftn life. About this creature, accordingly, a good
deal of fable has been evolved frum tho imagination of the peopJo ;
and from their dread of its power they will never kill one except in
retahation for one of their friends or neighboiira who has been destroyed
by a crocodile. They believe that the wanton destrnction of one of
these reptiles will be followed by the loss of human life, in accordance
with the principle of lex talionis. The inhabitants living in the neigh-
bourhood of the lake Itiisy, to the west of the central province, are
accustomed to make a yearly proclamation to the crocodiles, warning
them that they will revenge the death of some of their friends by
killing as many voay in return, and warning the well-disposed crocodiles
to keep out of the way, as ttey have no quarrel with them, but only with
their evil-minded reptiles who have taken human life. On the principle
of " taking a hai f f h d g th t bit them," a crocodile's tooth ia
worn as an amulet harm and ilver ornaments made in that shape
formed a chief part f th ad mment of tho people in former times
(see frontispiece t if j f Madagascar, vol. i.), while a golden
crocodile's tooth f m d th utral ornament in the royal crown.
From this dread of the supposed supernatural power of the crocodile,
it is invoked by prayers rather than attacked j even the shaking of a
spear over a stream is dreaded as likely to give offence to the reptiles
and provoke their vengeance the nest time the offender ventures on
the water ; while to throw dung into the water was a heinous offence.

Mr. Grainge mentions that along the river Bctsiboka the people
believe that " crocodiles live chiefly on stones, stealing cattle, pigs,
and people merely as a relish to the harder fare. Also, that, smitten
by the charms of the pretty little divers and other water-birds, they
choose their mates from among them, and so crocodiles' eggs are
produced,"* Among the Antankarana, in the extreme north of
Madagascar, the people beheve that the spirits of their chiefs pass into
crocodiles, those of inferior people being transformed into other
animals ; and doubtless this belief leads to their being nnmolested
except in the cases already mentioned.

The belief in a kind of transmigration of sonls is also connected
* AntaniLitarKvB Anmtal, No. i. p. 16.

« MAI,AQA8V FOLK-LORE

with other animals beBides the crocodile. Tlie pretty apeoies of lemnr
called Babacoote is beliered by tlie Betunim^na tribe to be an
embodiment of the spiiita of their aneeetore, and therefore they look
with horror upon killing them. They have as much repugnance to
killing the harmless and timid little Ajo- Aye, so interesting to natural-
ists, although it is not quite clear that it is from the same notion
respecting them, Accordingly, it is very difficult to obtain one, as the
natiTes believe that any one killing an Aye-Aye will die within the
year, and that evil will follow from their even seeing one of them.*
Dr. Sandwith, who procured the first specimen sent to England, from
which the creature was described by Professor Owen, was only able to
overcome this dread by offering the large anm of fifty dollars for a
single animal.

The spirita of those who die unburied are believed to be doomed
to associate witli, if not to become, wild cats, owls, and bats. And
there is mnch the same opinion with regard to the spirits of certain
criminals, especially those who are killed for supposed sorcery. The
above-mentioned animals are therefore all of evil omen, and in most
parts of the country the people look with horror upon the keeping of a
wild or native cat, those who have one in their houses being regarded
as familiar with the black art. This cat is called kary, and ia a beauti-
fully marked animal, with stripings of black on a grey ground. The
European cat, on the other hand, which is called shka, is rather
prized, and fetches a good price in the markets.

There ia also in many parts of the country a dislike to goats, and
also to pigs. Repeated proclamations have been made abont the
latter animals, ordering their removal to a distance of several miles
&om the capital city, and some tribes and families will not eat their
flesh, considering it unclean.

The moat valuable and plentiful of all the animals found in Mada-
gascar, the large humped buffalo, has some cnrious legendary history
connected with it. A king called Ralimbo, the eleventh on the list of
Hova sovereigns, is held in memory as the fii'st who ventured to use it
as food. It is said that before his time it was called janibka, a word

• Menegraph on the Ai/e-Aye (Chiromyi Mtidagits
Owen, D.C.L, F,R,S, &c, 18«3.

■h) ; In- Iti.liava

AND rOPULAB BUPEBSTITIONS.

which IS still in use qb an adjective, meaning "gentle, easy, not hareh."
But since then it has been called omby. This name is said in the
story to be derived from the circumstaiico that Ralambo Baid " Omhy,
omby" (Enough, enough!), when the folds were filled with cattle.
But it looks veiy much as if the story were invented to account for
the word, which is most likely the same as the Swahili ngomhd. It
has been conjectured that before Ralambo's time the ox had retained
(in that part of Madagascar, at least) the senii-sacred character which it
still bears among many nations, as with certain Himalayan tribes, the
Veddaha of Ceylon, the Kaffirs, and some peoples in the valley of the
White Nile, The correctness of this supposition is confirmed by the
fact that amongst several Malagasy tribes the office of killing an ox ia
one which belongs only to the chief, who was, it must be remembered,
u sort of high priest among his people. Thus, Drury says, " Few in
this part of the island [south-west provinces] will eat any beef unless
it is killed by one descended from a race of kings. My master and
his brother, to execute these high offices, were sometimes obliged to go
five or sis miles to kill an ox."* Among the Taimbro people, on the
south-east coast, the writer found the same custom to prevail. At a
large village called Ambbtaka we were told that no bird or animal
must be killed for food except by some one belonging to the family of
the king. A relic of this custom still remains among the Hovas, for
at the Fandrbana, or New Year's festival, the fattened oxen to be
killed are driven into the royal courtyard to be blessed by the sove-
reign. An ox without blemish is kilted, and the hump being cut off
is brought to the sovereign to be tasted, as a sort of first-fruits. After
this the people take their cattle home and kill them. Connected with
this doubtless is the fact that in many Malagasy tribes they do not
kill oxen, although they have them in great abundance, unless at
fhnerals or other very important occasions.

In former times the Bctsilco killed oxen only at reaping times, while
the Tanila kill chiefly at planting time; but on these occasions there
is evidently some religious significance in this bullock killing. The
Tanilla are said to offer a great deal of the fiesh upon altars in their

■ The AAventurei of Bebert Drury, p. 1B3, ed. 11

MALAGASY FOLK-LORE

Another noteworthy circumstance
rnmp is the royal shi

nnected with the ok is that t
killed. Ab Dr. Davidsoit liH

pointed out, " the very name anatomistH give to this part is suggestive J
It is called the sacrvm, or sacred part — the port devoted to the gods ioM
Greece and Borne. But, tracing this up to a higher source, n
that in the Levitical law this part was specially directed to be offen
to the Lord."* See Lev. iii. 6-11.

It IB also worth notice that the same part of a fowl ( udA'-oWftoH
is the proper portion to be given by children or inferiors to theii
parents or superiors ; while the same portion of a sheep is what i
given by a man to the father and mother of the girl whom he marriefcl
This is now always a money present, but it retains the original namoi
vodi-Andri/, and makes a marriage legal and binding.

These three animals, it may also be observed, ore those esteemed
by the Malagasy as proper to be sacrificed. These sacrifices wern
sometimes holocausts, but more frequently what are called meat-o9eT-|
ings in the Mosaic law, being feasted upon by the offerers ; while t
blood and fat, as representing the life and the best part of thoJ
animal, were alone offered. These portions of the victim were
smeared upon the upright stones of tbo tombs as offerings to tbc
ancestors, and also upon other sncred stones and places.

Mr. Bicbardson says that the following curious notion in conneo
tion with oxen exists in some parts of the country ; " The top of a
large ant-hill is frequently taken oft" and thrown at the rump of an o
that persists in returning to the town where it has been boDght, a
it is a belief firmly held by the cattle dealers that the animal wil^
never return to its former owner after the operation. "-f

The buffalo being by far the largest and most powerful land anii
known to the Malagasy is continually used in their poetical i
figurative language as the emblem and embodiment of strength and
majesty, much as the bull was employed by the ancient Assyrians, andj
the lion by Western Asiatic and European nations. Thus, the king)
were sainted as omhelaliy, "bulla;" and the same expression fre^
queutly occurs in forms of benediction at the circumcision and othoi
• Sunday Magaaine, 1873, p. 674.
■f AntanhnarXvo Anniialf No. iii. p, 86.

AND POPCLAE 3DPEESTITI0NS.

festiyitieH. In some tribes the chief is saluted se B'iby, a word
usnally meaning "animal" or "living creature," but probably in-
tended as a figurative way of saying that he possesses all the power
of the noblest animal forma, Bull-fighting was formerly a favourite
amusement with the Malagasy, and there are words for numerous
charms which were supposed to make a favourite animal victorious
and to disable his antagonist.

In the rejoicings connected with the ceremonies at the circnmciRion
the ox has a prominent place. In the songs which are sung the
animal is called by a special name, Vbrihangy, instead of the common
name, omS^. And every portion of the animal is apportioned to a
particular person ; every one taking part in the slaughter of the ox
having his proper share, as well aa the old, the newly-delirered, the

itors, &c. This song is a kind of chant, with a chorus which is
repeated at the end of every line, whde the name of the ox (vbrihangy)
is also repeated in every stanza. Thus, leaving out the repetitious,
the homa, the hoofs, the tongue, the ears and eyes of the animal, are
each celebrated as having their special office; while the brain is the
share of the newly-delivered, the head to the beater of the
neck to the owner of the axe, the hump to the children i
the ceremony, the shoulder to the fetchers of the sacred water em-
ployed, the sirloin to the circumcisers, the breast to the visitors, the
ribs to make bodkins for parting the hair, the dewlap to the blowers
of the conch shells, and so on, until eveiy part of the creature has
been appropriated, and all concerned in the ceremonies or the killing
have had their proper share of the meat.

Another ancient saying as to the uses of the ox thus apportions the
different parts of the animal; "Its horns to the maker of spoons
its teeth to the plaiters of straw, its ears to make medicine for a
rash, its hump to make fat, its rump to the sovereign, its feet to
the oil-maker, its spleen to the old men, its liver to the old women,
its lights to fathers and mothers-in-law, its tripe to the owner of the
rope, its neck to the owner of the axe, its haunch to the herald, its
tail to the weaver, its euet to the soap-maker, its hide to the drum-
maker, its head to the chief orator, its eyes to make beads, its hoofs
to th& guu'maker," &c.

26 MALAGASY FOLK-LORE

2.— Birds.

Turning from the qnadrupeUs to tUe birds, it baa nl
remarked that owle were considered of ill-omen ; and no one who has
heard the unearthly acrcech of Bome of the Madagascar owls can
wonder that they should be held in disfavour by a superstitioua
people. But there is another bird which is also looked upon with
dread should it fly across the path a person is taking. This is the
Takatra, a bird which builds a very large nest resembling an immenBe
heap of hay or grass when viewed from below. No business of im-
portance would be undertaken by a Hora in former times were his
path crossed by one of these birds ; and if it crossed the path before
the chief idols tbeso were obliged to return to their houses. It was
also beheved that any one destroying the nest of the (ikati-a would be
seized with leprosy.

Among the Tan^la people the diviners foretell events " by means
of good and bad birds, according to their notes, or the way they take
in flying, and they profess to know whether they bring good or evil.
They look upon the kite as being a bird of much evil omDn. Should
its droppings fall upon the head of any one, be is watched as sure to
die ; the people mourn for him and kill oxen to ward off the impend-
ing death,""

Then again, the laying by a fowl of an unusually large egg is
regarded as ominous either of some extraordinary good or evil, while
an unusually small egg ia feared as foreboding evil. Something of the
same feeling comcB up ia the name given to a small insect which
attacks the young rice-plauts. It is called Ondrikelin' AndHamanitra,
" God's lamb ;" it appears to be regarded as an instrument of divine
anger for men's wickedness.

The fables respecting animals and birds are numerons, and some-
times very amusing, as giving ingenious reasons for their respective
habits, likes and dislikes, &c. Tims there arc conversations between
" The Crocodile and the Wild Hog," " The Wild Hog and the Rat,"
" The Wild Hog and the Chameleon," " The Hedgehog and tho Eat,"
"The Kingfisher and the Great Moth," "The Sitry and the
* Antwninarivo Anwital, No. il, p. 93.

AND POrDLAR 8UPEKSTIT10KB. 27

Anleiintsy " (two species of lizards), " The Wild Cat and the Rat,"
" The Hawk and the Fowl," " The Fly and the Ant," &c. &c.

3. — Fahuloue Animah,

But heBides these well-known animals the native imagination has
pictured several wonderful creatures which have no existence except
in the fancy of some story-toller of a past age. Among these is the
Songbtnbifi a beast said to be the size of an ox, but of wonderful swift-
ness and addicted to human flesh. Then there is the Tukan-dia or
Tbkaii-lbiigotva (" the single-footed "), a creature whose fore and hind
legs are said to be each joined, so that it has only two feet altogether ;
also a beast of incredible swiftnesn, eating men, and only going
abroad by night. Then there is the Lalomena, a beast with red homa
and as big ae an ok, but living in wat«r. But besides these fabulous
stories there are others of strange serpents, described as of marvel-
lous power, which very possibly have a basis of truth, since it has
been ascertained that there is a species of boa in the western part of
the island which drops from trees upon osen and passing travellers.

But there is another creature also spoken of by the Malagasy,
especially by the Betsil^o, in which there seems to be a curious
mixture of fact and fable.' This is the Fankny or the Fananim-pito-
Ibha (" the Fanany with seven heads "). This creature is variously
described ae a lizard, a worm, and a serpent, and is believed to come
from the corpse of those of noble blood, and to be, in fact, an em-
bodiment of their spirits. After the completion of the revolting
practice of treating the bodies of such people (by so compressing the
corpse that a putrid liquid exudes from the foot), the pots containing
the liquid portion are taken great care of, for the corpse cannot be buried
imtil a small worm appears in one or other of them. Two or three
months are sMd to frequently elapse before this takes place. After
the worm has increased in size the body may be buried ; while the
earthen pot with the worm is placed in the grave ; but in it is also
fixed a long bamboo reaching up to the outer air tlirough an opening
at the top. After six or eight months they say that this worm
climbs up the path prepared for it and comes into the village. It is

28 MALAGASY FOLKLOIIE

then like a lizard in nppearance, nnd called /aniian. The relatires o

the deceased proceed to qnestinn the creature, asking if it is Bach m
one, and believe that they get an infallibly correct answer hy its
lifting its head. Thus assured, they make assurance doubly sure by
fetching a plate off which the deceased ate his or her last meal, and
in this plate the blood from an ox's ear, together with ru
ponred, The/aminy'a drinking these liquids leaves no doubt a
identity. A clean cloth is then spread, upon which the creature Bt«p8,''
and it is borne into the village with feasting and rejoicing. It is
finally carried back to the tomb from which it emerged; there it
remains (so they say) and becomes the guardian deity of the people
living near, and grows to an enormous size.

The Rev. J. Richardson, from whose account the foregoing deecripH
tion is taken, says, that, although he has never seen the faniing '
itself, he knows for certain that the bamboo and earthen pot in the
tomb, &c. are arranged as described. He adds: "And I have
heard from the lips of the chief prince of one of the tribes, when his
mother was dead, ' She has not yet appeared in the earthen pot, and
BO I cannot bury her body.' Of this prince's mother I know that for
nearly three months from the time of her decease, as also the decease
of her sister, and until the fanany appeared, the people in the whole
district were not allowed to dig or plant. There was danger of a
famine, and the Hova anthoritiea were obliged to interfere and hasten
the appearance of this fananyy

In a native account of this marvellous creature it is said to have
seven heads, whence its name, and each head has horns. At its
death it swells to the size of a mountain, so that the villages near are
nninhabitable from tho efflitviura ; while there are other equally
apocryphal stories of its ascending up to heaven, and of its taking
refuge in the sea, where only it could have space to move about.
The narrator says that the fanhny seen by him was the size and had
the appearance of a small water-snake called tdnipondr&no. He con-
fesses that he saw only one of its seveu heads, but the people
nccounted for this deficiency by saying that the specimen he saw was

1 Annval, No. i. p. 7i.

AND POPULAR SUPBKSTITIONS. 29

still young. EritJently the doctrine of deTclopment was nrgently
needed in thiB case.

4, — Trees and Plants.

There are several Ireeg which have a somewhat Bacred eharact^r
among the Malagasy. Among these are the Panit, a species of
mimosa, which is frequently found growing over and around the tomhs
of the Vaaimba. The tombs of these ancient people were held in
extreme veneration, and also the tree growing over them; and the
Heeds, which are contained in large pods a foot long, and resemble small
beans, were commonly used in the working of the divination or sHAd;/.
Another tree connected with idol-worship ia the ffhsina, a species of
pandanua, often attaining a considerable size, and branching in its
growth. The name of the tree implies its sacred character, masina
being the adjective used to describe consecrated or sacred things.

Another tree called Zahana (bignonia artimlata), an evergreen
with dark glossy leaves and pink flowers, is one frequently seen
growing in Imerina (the central province of the island) as ornamental
timber. But there is an old superstition regarding it, and still
believed in by many, to the effect that any one planting it in his
grounds will meet with an early, if not sudden, death.

In the southern parts of Madagascar, among the Bara and Tanbsy,
the Tamarind tree (one of the finest of the trees growing in the
island), and also the Baobab, have each a sacred character. In this
latter tree there is a certain part considered as specially belonging to
God. Portions of the tree are coloured black, white, and yellow,
bound with mats, and decorated with charms.

Among the Sakalava, a tree called hazommitra (" fragrant wood ")
is planted at the buth of the first child, as a witness that the father
acknowledges it as his own.

The Malagasy do not, like the Polynesians, make much use of
flowers in their festivities ; but it was formerly the custom that those
who accompanied the Queen, on her return from the ancient to the
present capital, should all be decorated with flowers. The effect pni-
duced by several thousands of people, with their heads or head-dresses

30 Malagasy i-olk-lore

(ill adorned with flowers, was often extremely pleasing. Some flowers
used to be considered as acceptable offeringH to the idols; thus a
pink-petalled flowering plant, called von6nina, was proper to be
bronght to the tutelar deity of the reigning family, while the other
idols had also their appropriate flower oflerings.

Flowers were also carried in the joyful procession which was formed
of the friends and relatives of those people who had been cleared of
guilt by the tangina ordeaJ, and were then termed madio, " clean," or
cleared of blame. These were fastened to small wands, and carried in
the hand.

An edible arum, called saonjo, is always eaten at a Hova house-
warming, But occasionally, possibly on the principle that " one
man's meat is another man's poison," some of the most noumhing
vegetables are fady, or tabooed, by certain individuals or families.
Thus, I was once warned that I could not enter a certain house if I
had amongst iny property any arrowroot prepared from the manioc
root, as that was fady to the owner of the house.

5. — Lucky and Unlucky Days and Times.
Leaving now the natural objects, animal and vegetable, with which
superstitious notions are associated in Madagascar, something may bo
said about days and times. Tlio wide-spread belief in lucky and
unlucky days is common to all the tribes in the island. The Mala-
gasy month is, of course, a lunar one ; indeed, the word for moon and
month are the same. In some parts of the country there seems little
use of a sevenfold diyision of time, but the days from one new moon
to another are called by twelve names. These are the very same as
the month-names, some having two other three days respectively,
which are distinguished as v&va, vonlo, and fara, or vddy (" mouth
or opening," " swelling or increase," and " end or close " of that name.
The Hoya names for the months ai'e all of Arabic origin, while those
used on the coast are compounds of native words ; but, curiously
enough, although these words, with slight variations in their fonn,
arc the same on both tlio eastern and western sides of the island, they
arc not synchronous. 60 that while the order of the twelve names is

AND POPULAR SUPERSTIXrONS.

the Bame, the month VblamhUa, for instance, is four months later in
the east of Madagascar than on the western side of it. From the
double meaning of month-names a very complicated system of lucky
and nnluclty times was formerly in use among the Hovas. Thus, ont
of the twenty-eight days of the month, twelve only are lucky. The
vava, or iirst days of some months, were CBpecially disastrous to the
children horn on them, in some cases to the offspring of the people
generally, and in others, to those bom of the family or in the house-
hold of the sovereign. These were usually put to death hy placing
the new-hom infant's head, face downwards, in a shallow wooden dish
filled with lukewarm water. In certain cases, however, this fate might
be averted by making prescribed offerings, or by undergoing an ordeal,
as will be presently described. On the other hand, some days were
considered as favourable for planting, commencing house-building,
going on a journey, or a war expedition, &c.

Each tribe, however, has customs peculiar to itself. Thus, among
the southern Tanala we found that eight days in each month were
considered unlucky, viz. those called Tsaratil, three days; Alakabsy,
two days ; and Alijkdy, three days ; and that children bom on those
daye were put to death in the manner above described, so that a
fourth of all who are bom are destroyed.

Then we also learned that with them every day throughout each
month has its yddy or food which must not be eaten when travelling
on that day. Thus, on the first day silkworms must not he eaten ; on
the second Indian corn is prohibited ; and so on successively, with sugar-
cane, bananas, sweet potatoes, rice, yams, honey, earth-nuts, beans,
katsaka, and vbamalto.

Among the Sihanaka tribe the people of a Tillage called Anbrohorb
are said to he almost like wild men, and are extremely superstitious,
being addicted to astrology and the observance of days. Among them
tlie twelve months have each their qualities of good or bad, and the
month is also divided into the same number of parts ; each day, even,
they divide into a number of parts from morning to evening. And if
a stranger comes to them on a day which they consider unlucky, or on
one of the divisions of the day or of the month which is of bad omen,
they will not allow him to enter the village, but make him remain

MALAGASY FOI.K-LOBE

tiiitsido, nmi there they bring liim food. Should he, however, persist
in coming in they say he irill certainly come to harm, either dying in
the town, or being so ill tin to lose his senBes, or nill be lost and not
find how U> udTUDco or retreat, becoming hopelessly adrift among tlie
nishcB on the water. For, as this village is situated in the midst of a
dense thicket of papyrus, there is no road to it except by canoe."

Among the Hkm, if a child is bom on a day which is unlucky to
cither its father only or its mother only, it is not put to death, bat if
born on a day of evil omen to both parents it is buried alive in an ant-
hill. The unfortunat« infant thus destroyed is called neho, a terrn
also employed as indicating the strongest reproach. f

Among the Tanala one of the months called Faosa is eztremel;
unlucky. " No one works on that month, no one changes hie place of
abode or goes about. If any one happens to be in the fields when tbe
month comes in there he remains. Almost aU children bom in that
month arc buried alive in the distant forest ; but, should the parents
detfinniue to let one live, they fetch the ombiasy or diviner." This
functionary makes an expiatory bath, consisting of certain grass, herbs,
and other articles placed in water, in which the child is bathed. This
ceremony pnts an end to the diild's evil days, and the water and its
contents are buried. J

Among one clan of the Saksliva all children bora on Tuesdays ue
put to death, while almost every &mily has a day similaiij iU-
omenwi to iheir newly-bora offspring.

The month called by the Hova Alakiiosy was esteemed very nnlndcy;
and among them and other Malagasy tribes the waning of the moon is
an nnfavourablc time for any important nndertakiiig. Among Ute
Antankanna the dead are only buried immediat^y aft«r the new
moon appears.

Before the destruction of idolatry in Imeriiu) in 1869 evo; idol
a day sacred to it, on which day Uioee who were especially its
abstained from wort. Until quit* lately lie Sunday or 'Dmrsda^

Aanal, So. iiL p. 6L
t Lifitii ati Siadtnri, App. i. p. 5.
t Awtaninarire Am*njU, So. iL p. 100.

AND POPULAlt SUPKllSsTlTIOKS. 33

were the Inoty days for the Hoya sovereign to go on a journey or
cotnmeiice any undertaking.

6. — Ordeals.

Reference was jnat now made to a certain ceremony hy which a
child might be preserved from death although born on an unlucky
day. There are, however, many different ordeals in use among the
Malagasy tribes, of which a short description may now be given.

Foremost among these is the well-known one of tlie Tangena or
poison ordeal.

The Tangena ia a small and handsome tree growing in the warmer
pajts of the island, and the poison is procured from the nnt of its
fruit. This in a small quantity acts as an emetic, but in a larger dose
as a virulent poison. The chief use of the tangena ordeal was for the
detection of witchcraft, by which the African races " understand the
use of poisonous drugs for evil purposes." Dr. Davidson remarks *
that the word " is ia fact equivaleut to the *ap/«iseia of the Greeks ;
and as the terms i^apiiaKog and venejicua were applied by the ancients
to signify alike a physician, a sorcerer, and a poisoner, so in many of
the African langnages the same peculiarity obtains. This arises from
the fact that among these and other primitive races the physiological
effect of drugs, whether poisonous or medicinal, are ascribed to sorae
magical power, either inherent in the substance itself or imparted to
it hy sorcery. Medicines are thus employed as charms both for
causing and curing disease."

The Qse of some poison as an ordeal in Madagascar is probably of very
ancient date, but it seems possible that the tangena itself has not been
used for a very long period. It was employed chiefly for the detection
of infamous crimes when ordinary evidence could not be obtained, such
as witchcraft and treason; and it was believed that there was inherent
in the fruit some supernatural power, a kind of " searcher of hearts,"
which entered into the suspected person, and either cleared him of guilt
or convicted him. The inodo in which it was administered was by
giving a portion of the nut rubbed down in water or the juice of a
• Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, vol. viii. p. 97.

VOL, n. D

MALAGASY FOLK-LOllB

banana, tlio culprit having previously eaten a little rice and swallowed
three small square-shaped pieces of a fowl's skin. Tepid water was
after a few minutes administered to canse vomiting, and the proof of
innocence was the rejection, of these three pieces uninjured. But even
if the ordeal was fairly administered there was an amount of 'risk (if
poisoning ; and, as it waa frequently used to get rid of ohnoxious per-
sons, hy a little management it could easily be made to yield an
nnfftvourable result.

One of the most remarkable things in connection with this ordeal
was the implicit faith of the people generally in its supemtural power,
so that they would often demand of the authorities that it should be
administered to them to clear them of any possible suspicion, and
this notwithstanding the certainty that some would fall victims to
their credulity. As whole villages sometimes took the tang^na, the
mortality caused by it was very great, and it was a fearful means of
destruction with an appearance of fair dealing.

I have been told by native friends, who had been ohKged to take the
ordeal during the persecution of Christianity, that they were not freed
from suspicion even after the pieces of skin had heeu rejected, but
that for a day or two afterwards they were cbsely watched, and du^d
not even apit to get rid of the bitter taste caused hy the poison la
that case fhey would have been put to death all the "iame

Among the Tanala, oi forest tribes, some other ordeals are in nse,
and it is curious that two of these are called tangena, with another word
added, as if the word had become equivalent to " ordeal " in meaning."

One of these is termed Tangen-Janahary, i.e. " the Creator's ordeal,"
and is administered as follows : Water is heated in a pot, and aa
the water begins to boil some pieces of quartz, called vato velona
{i.e. " living stones "), are slung in the water, so as not to touch the
bottom of the pot. When this is done the accused person is ordered
to take the stone out of the pot, putting his hand under the stone, and
bringing it out lying on the palm of the hand ; he most then put the
stone into cold water. He is then carefully watched until the nest
day, and should his hand not blister he Is declared innocent. Yet if
the accused himself should be the (irst to declare his hand nnblistered
• AHtanaaarir-o Anmial, No. ii. pp. 94, 95.

AND POPULAR 8DPBRSTITION8.

ho is accounted 8:ui]tr, and if occuBed of Btealiog he must pay tho
Btipnlated fine. The hand not bliEtering, and the accnscd haying
waited for others to declare him innocent, his accnaer muHt giye him
one Blare, and he is set free.

Another ordeal is that of Tangm-boatf, the " ordeal by crocodile."
In this test the person suspected of wrong-doing is taken to a river in
which there are many crocodiles. The people are assembled there.
A man stands behind the accused and strikes the water thrice, and
nddresBes the crocodiles, begging them to show whether the enlprit ib
guilty or otherwise. He is then made to swim across the river and
back again, and if he successfully accomplishes this, and is not hurt by
the crocodiles, then the accusers are fined four oxen ; the swimmer
gets two, the king one, and the councillors one.* It may be presumed
that few escape this ordeal with life.

Still another ordeal is called Kodeo, a word of obscure meaning. In
tills ceremony the accused is set npon a rice-mortar, and he is made to
inntter. A man then approaches holding a large stick, with which
he thrice strikes the earth, and thrice cuts the hair of the accused,
throwing it to God, who is invoked to show his guilt or innocence by
certain signs. Should the person he guilty it is said that he at once
begins to tremble, to be purged, and to vomit; and some of them,
although they do not die as they sit there, do not escape, for tho
lightning, it is said, soon strikes their honses. If, although guilty,
he finds favour with his judges, they invoke God's mercy for him and
puriiy him by lustration. Should the person be innocent he is sprinkled
with water in which silver rings have been allowed to stand to make
him well.

The drinking of the Vbkoka, or water mixed with earth taken from
the tomb of a former sovereign, as a test of allegiance, ma; also be
regarded as a species of ordeal.

Another ordeal must be mentioned which was formerly in use in
ImSrina. In the case of children bom in the month of Alakaosy it
was possible to avert the necessity of actually destroying them by

' For a ronumtic story fonndeil on this custom see t^nilaf'^»,/uw
Dec I, 1819, " Tho Trial bj C^man," by Fercj B. St. John.
d2

I, p. 309,

AS HALAG&Sr FOLK-LOKE

placing them at the entrance of the cattle-fold of the Tillage, t
osen being drivan over the spot where the hapless infant was laidi^
Should it happen that through any freak of the animals the child '
was avoided by them and so escaped death from their hoofs, it waa
considered to have overcome the evil fate, and its life was spared. It J
was usually sent away into some seqaestered village, and not acknow-i
ledged as its father's offspring until some time had elapsed. It w
lielieved that those children who escaped through this ordeal would '
live to be extremely rich. It is said that the present Prime Miniater
of Madagascar was thus ejqiosed as an infant, having been bom in the
ill-fated month, but he escaped injury, an<l so has lived to be the
most powerfal chief minister the country has over had aa its ruler.

There is still one mora cnstom in use in Madagascar having the
character of an ordeal. This is called Jlmo-dn'drona, " water in the
nose," and is a test which is made by putting water in the nostrils,
this being supposed to cause the guilty party to sneeze. So that if a
person accuses another of theft tho accused will say, " Come, let ub
both put water in our nostrils, if you dare test it, and see whether I
stole or not ?"

7, — Folk-Lore of Home and Family Life.

A few words may now he said about some popular Malagasy beliefs
and superstitions having reference chiefly to home and family life.

The mention of sneezing just now reminds us that the world-wide
superstition of some evil influence being at work when any one sneezes
is equally prevalent in Madagascar. Thus, when a child sneezes its
mother or nurse always repeats the common benediction, " Hotakin
Andriav^nitra Uanao" " God bless you," exactly as is done in Europe
and other jiarts of the world.

When a child loses one of its first or milk teeth the tooth is thrown
over the bouse, a practice closely coiTesponding to what is common in
some parts of England, Toothache is believed to be caused by a
small worm in tho offending tooth, and so the siiffcrer is described as
being marary hlitra, " poorly through the worm."

There is a common belief that the first spittle produced after waking

AND P0PT7LAR BDPER8TITI0NS.

in the morning has medicinal virtue in healing a eore car
is then called rbra majhitra, " bitter or disagreeable saliTa." And when
a Malagasy passes anything with an offensive smell, as, for instance, a
dead dog on the I'oadside, he always spits, as a kind of antidote.

On entering a honae, CBpeciallj a royal house, it is improper to use
the UJl foot on first stepping into it ; one must " put one's best (or
right) foot foremost." Then again, it is improper to lean against a
chiefs house, and it is considered highly indecorous to sit upon any
royal property, such as cases of goods, &c.

In many parts of Madagascar it is common when giving a present
of food for the donor to taste part of it himself as an assurance that
it is given in good faith, and may confidently be eaten without any
Buspicion of its being poisoned. Much the some feeling is expressed
in old forms of salutation, as Saraaara tsy ambhka, the two latter words
meaning " not deceived, overreached, or beguiled." This is no saper-
fluons assurance in some portions of the island, for the Bara axe said
to live in such constant suspicion and dread of an enemy that they
never wash in their houses, but only in the open air. And even then
they only wash one side of the face at the time, leaving one eye open,
and one hand grasping gun and spear.*

In the arrangements of a Hova house in the central province the
sacred portion of it ia always at the north-east comer, where, in
time of war, the women sing the r&ri/, a kind of chant or invocation
imploring victory for their husbands and friends. The following ia
one of these chants : —

" Altliongli they have many gaas,
Althongli thej bsve many spears.
Protect Thou them, O God."

The r&ry is also made use of at other times, as when there has been
injury caused by hail, lightning, or waterspouts.

In this north-east corner the fixed bedstead always has its head
towards the north, for the Hovaa invariably sleep with their heads
towards the north or east. Even in their tombs the dead arc also
liiid in this direction, never with the head towards west or south. The

* AfttanAnariva Annnal, No. ii. p. 47.

HALAGAiiV rOLK-].OBU

entrance to the tomb is nlwaya on the we§tern aide. Other tribal
however, are not so paiticalnr as the Hovas ubout the position of ihoH
tombs.

lu building a honee the first tonier-post set np is atwaji at tbitl
BEtered part of it, Several kinds of plants are attached to its haae,M
und on the top ib fixed a piece of uilvor chain, a sort of assurance thatr.|
the owner will always have money in his dwelling. In the case of i
royat bouse the post is sprinkled by the sovereign with saered wata
brought from a special spring, and an inrocation is prononnoed iin
ploring a blessing on the b

—Luck;/ and Unlucky NuirAers, Actions, 4-c,

In the building of a house for the late sovereign all the measuroi
ments were regulated by the Queen's own rify, or fothom, that is, ths^
space between the tips of her fingers when the arms were extended;
and smaller dimeueions were according to her span, a most awkward '
and troublesome fettering of the European architect in making his
drawings. Besides this, no dimension was, if possible, of the unlucky
numbers, sis and eight. These are considered as of bad omen, because
e'liina, six, is the same in sound as the root of the word man^nina, to
regret, or feel remorse ; while vdlo, eight, is similar in sound to mivalo,
to abjectly beg pardon, and also to fahavalo, an enemy. The word
fdhate'lo, third, is also used for enemy, possibly on the principle that
" three are no company," so that it also has some disfavour attaching
to it, as has also the word fahaiivg, ninth, in some tribes at least,
amongst whom it is used to denote a malignant kind of spirit or

Mr. Bichardson says that the Bara have a strong dislike to ths
singular number. " They will take nothing singly. You must offer
two, and sometimes they will spend an hour or two in matching two
bciuls. They call two 'one person' (iraika amin' olo). If you offer
one they always ask, '.^ia nyvdliny?' (Where is its partner?)"*

* LighU and Shadomt, App. i. p. ix.

AND FUPDLAB SUI'EKSTITIONS.

Perhaps, however, this love of the plural arises from nothing more
than their covetous habit of mind, in short, by an apparent paradox,
from their lovo of " Number One."

But of course some numbers are Incky, especially twelve, a nninber
which appears in many connections. Thus, the sovereign has twelve
wives ; there aro twelve capital crimes, and twelve men who are
appointed esecntioners for snch offences; while in proclamations
twelve royal aucestors are often spoken of, and also the twelve ancient
towns in ImSrina, or, as they are usually on hills, they are called the
" twelve sacred mountains."

The left hand and side appear to be regarded as more appropriate
in circnmstances of mourning than the right. Thus, after leaving off
mourning for a deceased relation the youngest son or daughter puts a
little grease on the left side of the neck by the little finger of the left
hand, a custom known as miimdrih.

There are numerous acts and cnstoms which are fddy or tabooed
in different parts of the country. Thus in some villages it is for-
bidden to enter with burdens carried by one man only ; all mnst bo
home by two men. Then "there is a belief prevalent among the
carriers of burdens that if a woman should stride over their poles the
skin of the shoulders of the bearers will certainly peel off the next
time of taking up ihe burden. A cooking-pot may not be osed for
ladling water ont of a stream, or be put into a pool ; an infringement
of this is looked upon as a saia precursor of a wet day." Similar
weather is expected should a man die ou a journey and be buried on
the downs where he dies."

Mention might be made in a paper on Malagasy wonea of
much that is curious in connection with them, but there are two or
three facts that may be perhaps more appropriately considered as illns-
trationa of folk-lore. For instance, it is often difScult to get persona
to tell you their name ; if asked, their attendants or slaves will reply
for them. Indeed in some places it \»fady for a person to pronounce
his own name. Mr. Grainge says, " Chatting with an old SikaUva
while the men were packing up, we happened to ask him his name,

* Rev. J. Bichaidaon, in Antanknar^vo Annual, No. iii. p. SI.

40 MALAGASY FOLK-LOKE

whereupon he politely requested ns to oflk one of hia servantB standing
by. On expressing our astonishment that he Bhould have forgotten
thJB, he told UB that it waafath/ for one of his tribe to pronounce his
own name. We found thla was perfectly tnia in that district""

There is a cnstoni called Jiiido, which consistH in placing on the
head a portion of the rice, honey, and meat eaten at the New Tear's
feast. Bat it is also employed on other occasions ; thus, when cross-
ing a stream which is dangerous either from the strength of the cur-
rent or the number of crocodiles in it, those who have passed in safety
take a handful of the water and put it on their heads, apparently as a
sign of thanksgiving. This practice seems to be o relic of some
ancient form of worship.

9. — Sickness and Death.

It will be readily supposed that amongst the Malagasy there are
many strange observances and beliefs connected with death. Some
of these would be more appi'opriately described in papers on their
Burial Customs and on their Language, but there are others more
strictly belonging to the present subject.

At the death of a sovereign there are a number of things which
become fady, and must not be done for a specified time, usually
eKteaUing over several months, and in some cases lasting a year.
Thus at the death of Eadama I. not only was almost every one ordered
to shave the head, but to use no showy dress or ornaments or
unguents, not to ride on horseback, or be carried in a palanqnin j not
to weave silk, or make pottery, or work in the precious metals, or manu-
facture sugar ; no carpentiy work was to be done, or writing, or
plaiting of straw j no salutations were to be used, or musical instru-
ments played, and dancing and singing were prohibited ; no beds,
tables, or chairs were to be used, and no spirits were to be drunk. f
At the decease of the late Queen Risohei-ina in 1868 it was ordered
that no musical instrument should be played, that there be no building

' AwtanltnarvtB Annval, No. i. p. 24.
t Hittory of Madaga»car, toI. ii. p. 398.

AND POPULAR 6UPEEST1T10SS,

in clay, or manufacture of pottery, that no one lie on a bed, or spin, or
prepare eilk, and in case of death the corpBo was to bo hnried without
any killing of bullocks or the nsual ceremonies.

The trouble the Malagasy take about their tombs ia partly accounted
for by their belief that the spirit of the dejiailed is unrestful if the body
remains unburiod. But there also exists a general belief throughout
the country in polhitton as connected with death. Thus no one who
has been at a funeral can enter the palace or approach the sovereign
unless a month has elapsed, and no corpse is allowed to be buried in
the capital city, or to remain in it beyond a very short time. The
rough bior on which the body is carried is thrown away in the neigh-
bourhood of the grave as polluted ; no one would dare to use it even
for firewood, hut it is left to decay with the weather. Besides this,
after a funeral the mourners all wash their dress, or at the least dip a
portion of it in running water, a ceremony which ia colled a/ana,
" freed from," and is supposed to carry away the uncleanness con-
tracted from contact with or proximity to a coi'pse.

Among the Siikaliivft such is the dread of death that when it occiira
in one of their villages they break up their settlement, and remove to
a distance before rebuilding their slight houses. They seem to believe
that the spirit of the deceased will haunt the spot, and do some harm
to those who stayed where it had Hved in the flesh. This perpetual
fleeing before death of course prevents the population from becoming
settled in its habits, and produces a most unsubstantial style of house-
building. The same notion is also found among the B^ra.*

Something of the same superstition prevails in other tribes. Thus
the Bihanaka do not pull down the house or go away from the village,
as do the Siikalava, but they leave it, and allow it to fall to pieces of
itself. Such deserted dwellings they call trano folaka, " broken
houses."!

These same people, when taking a corpse to the grave, have an
earthen dish filled with burning cowdung carried on a man's heail, and
this is placed at the headstone. They say tliat the reason of this is

• Antaniijuirimi Annual, No. ii. p, 46.
t ma. No. iii. p. 66.

42 MALAGASY FOLK-LORE

that the dead person may be able to get fire should he chancy to
be cold.

'< When the corpse has been placed in the grave a man knocks at
the door of the tomb, or on the stone covering it, should there be no
door, and calls out, * thou, Such an one, whoever it is that has
bewitched you, let him not hide, let him not be concealed, but break
him upon the rock, that the children may see it, that the women may
see it ; ' and all there also join in the adjuration."*

Among this same tribe, should any one happen to be seriously ill,
he is taken secretly out of the village and conveyed to some out-of-
the-way place, where no one is allowed to see him except those who
nurse him.f

It is said that among the southern Tankla the people are accus-
tomed, when any of their relatives are ill and become insensible, to
take and place them in a part of the forest where they throw their
dead ; and should the unfortunate creatures so cast away revive and
return to the village they stone them and kill them outright.

Among these same Tanala they call sudden death fbla'tnanta
(" broken-unripe "), and " such deaths are ascribed to witchcraft. The
diviner is fetched, and he consults the oracle ; and wrapping up some
grains of black sand, places them on the head of the corpse, saying,
* He who is caught carrying his cloth" («. e, his dress) within a month is
mine.* They think that the black sand will make the person who
bewitched the deceased to go about naked ; and, therefore, should such
a one be caught at such practices during the month he is killed.";^

1(^. '^Witchcraft and Charms.

It will be inferred from the above, what indeed is the fact, that
those who practise witchcraft are accustomed to go about naked, but
this is, of course, done by night, and the lamha or outer dress is car-
ried on the head. To dance on tombs is said to be another action
commonly done by mpamosavy or sorcerers.

* AntaniiTUM^vo Anrnuil, No. ill. p! 66.

t Ibid. p. 63.

X Ibid. No. 11. p. 98.

AND POPDLAR SUPEaSTITIONS.

Although to prEictise sorceiy was a capital crime, it appears to have
been very prevaleut ; indeed the Borcery which consists in a use of
charms uf Tarious kinds is still practised almost all over the island.
When it was wished to do injury to any one, a basket containing
various small articles, each haring a symbohc meaning, was laid at
hia door, Shortly before the revolution ia 1863, Mr, Ellis had such
charms betokening evil to him laid at his door or window for more
than a week. " This charm consisted of a small basket, three or four
inches in diameter and depth, in which were two pieces of granite
stone, called ' death stones.' A hole was burned in the basket,
which indicated calamity by fire. Amongst the contents were hedge-
hog's bristles, parts of scorpions or centipedes, hair, earth said to be
. from a gi'ave, and other strange ingredients."*

Charma or bd^/ (Ht/, in some parts of the country) ore used for all
sorts of purposes : thus there are bdifhty, a cordial for exhilarating in
circumstances of extreme sorrow or danger ; bdtfitia, a philtre or love
charm ; odimaMry or bdiratsr/, a malignant charm, Ac. There were
also certain channs thrown towards an enemy before a battle aa a
means of insuring victory. And as soon as one goes away from the
Christianised portions of Madagascar one meets with numbers of
charms worn by the people, and designed to protect from various evils
or to procure certain benefits. Thus, among the Bkrn, Tanila, and
East-coast tribes, every one carries charms round his neck. These are
small pieces of wood, some being smeared with animal oil, and others
with castor-oil, those belonging to rich people being ornamented with
beads and anointed with fat. Occasionally these charms are tied
ronnd their knees, or fastened round the chest ; some are small pieces
of wood shaped like a little canoe ; others are lemur's bones, bothfrom
the hands and feet ; others are small wooden figures of men ; others
are figures of women, or of oxen, with a variety of other small objects.
" This lemur's foot," said the people, "we call isimototra, and it is a
charm against fatigue ; and the meaning of this little canoe ia, that we
shall not be npset, and if we swim we shall get across safely." And
the little human figures they call a charm for obtaining spoil and get-
ting plenty of slaves j and the figure of a woman is to aid in obtaining
• Madajaicar Eev'uited, p. 271.

MALAGASY FOLK-I.OKE.

women ; and bb to tho tignre of an ox, they bbj of it that those who p
sesfi it will get abundance of cattle.* There are other chnrms alsoci
i&mpllhhff or bdibasji, that is, charms against a gun. These are pieces
of a bullook'd liorn, from three to five or six inches of the tip ; they
nro ornamenUtd with tin, or with small beads worked in patterns ; the
euvity is nearly filled with the ashes of certain trees or plants of soM
piised magical power, and mixed with fat and beea'-wax ; in this coeb
position are stuck a number of large needles. These hdibtiiy k
supposed to render the wearer invulnerable, being an unfailing protei
tion against a niusket-baU.

Mr. Richardson says of these fiara people ; " The charms are very
numerous j " and, in addition to the gun charm just described, " the
men wear from two to twenty-nine (the greatest number I counted),
others on the head, or slung from the shoulder and across the breast."
" They have imbonnded confidence in these charms, and will not part
with thorn except on exorbitant terms." " Should you show a man
that his charms nro useleas, he will only agree to the belief that
yon have a more powerful charm than his own, and which he is pre-
pnrnd to buy at any price." t According to the same antbority, tho
Dilra have many prohibited acts {fady or tabooed), for which fines
are imposed, Time " for sitting or reclining on another person's bed,
ft fltio of one ox, or to be shot. For striding over a person, or for
Btriiling over tho foot even, the same. For brushing a person's face
or any pnrt of his iiody even with any part of your clothing, the same.
For using sjioons, plates, or drinking vessels belonging to another per-
son, the same. Children while young are exempt from the penalties;
but, when a child arrives at an age when he may be trusted with a
spear, ho is given in charge of his mother, who takes him from home
for a month, and instructs him in his duty to his fellow-men, espe-
cially urging him to beware of incurring a fine, or running the risk of
being shot. On his return, should hecommit any ofthe aboveoffencea,
the father will pay the fine, but disinherit his child; and on the second
ofl'ence will drive him from tho place." J

• Antanhnarivo AnnKal, No. ii. p. 63.
t Lighti and Shadowt, App. i. p, vii.
t Ibid, p. vi.

AND POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS.

Among Bnch cuBtoms may be counted one found among the
Bihanfika. lu a certain place is a small hole, into which, if yon can
pitch a stone, yon will be rich and prnsperona." Among these people
also, as aoiongst other tribes, a white earth is plastered over the face
aa a cure for certain complaints. The Hovas are also accustomed to
put patches uf this substance on their faces on some fcstire occasions.
Thus at the coronation of Queen RanaTalona I. her majesty's fore-
head was marked with this white clay, which is called, probably from
this nee of it, tani/ raoo, or " joyful earth."

The charms which were used to procure victory in the bnll-fights
have already been mentioned ; and many charms are also employed
to secure a favourable result in the tangina ordeal.

There is a cnrions custom formerly in use among the Betsileo, and
still practised by other southern tribes, wliich is called Sdlamanga, a
kind of incantation to induce tho " spirit of evil," which they beliere
possesses every one who is ill, to leave the body in which it is and pass
into other bodies. Mr. G. A. Shaw, in Lis Notes of a Journey to Ikongo
(South-east Madagascar), and also from information he has kindly
supplied me with, gives the following particulars of the ceremonies
employed : — " To compass this object many forms are gone through
under the direction of a diviner. On the roof of the house were
placed pieces of white wood, pointed and painted in cross bars of
black and red, and stuck in the thatch near the ridge, so as to
resemble the horns of the old-fashioned Malagasy houses. About
three feet from the door was planted a forked branch of a tree, also
resembhng horns, having the bark peeled off from the joint upwards.
Those in the roof were to induce the spirit to ascend them and so
leave the house. That near the door is to prevent any stranger, or
any one coming from a house of mourning, from entering the house,
as that would break the spell. Then twice every day a dance is per-
formed. The bdy or household charms are br ght nt th t-y \
and placed on the wooden rice-mortar togetl w th a d Ua V I 11
or mat is spread over this, and upon the lib k p
seated dressed in a most curious fashion. h d m g th

* Afttananarive Atmual, "So. ii. p. If.

HALAQASr KOLK-LOBE.

oriuunents> a conical fool's cap, <Ieckcil with learea and flowers, and &
great tassel at the tip. Then drams and bambooB were beaten, and
the native gnitar, banjo, and flute played, the whole village forming a
circle ruand the dok pcrnnn and clapping hands, while the women and
girls ssitig a monotonons refrain. Then a woman of rank appointed
for the Dccaaion began to dance, while another, seated behind the sick
pernonB, began to beat a worn-out spade, suspended by a string, with a
hatchet, qnito close to their ears, making a horrid din. I thought as
I Ntooil by that if it wanted anything to make an indisposed person
downright ill thiswonld be a good recipe. The idea of this is to drive
the hngatra (evil spirit) possesHing the sick person into one of those
dancing. But the two sick persons eat perfectly motionless, while the
drama were beaten louder and lender, and more and more voiceG and
hands joini-d in the chant und the clapping until it reached a perfect
■lirick ; when I was rather astonished by seeing the two sick girls
jnmp up and commence dancing round the ijiside of the circle fonntd
by the performers. All this goes on twice, and sometimes three times,
a {lay, and if the sick povsons arc nut speedily cured appeal is made
Ui the diviners, who tell them that not enough rum lias been brought,
or enongh beef, or that the persons dancing are not of high enough
rank, or anything else for an excuse."

Nnmcrons other curious practices, which are all closely connected
with folk-lore and superstitious beliefs, might be described, as shown
in tho womhip of idols, in saorifiues and offerings for atonemeut and
expiation, in sacred stones and idoces, the belief in guardian demons
and water- sprites, in divination, the native ideas about ghosts and
shades, and the cnstoms conncctrd with the New Year's festival, and
the practices of circumcision and blood covenants, &c. These may
possibly form the subject of another paper if the foregoing proves of
interest to the membera of the Folk-Lore Society.

Jaues SiBREE, Jnn,

POPULAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO.

*' Samer is icninen in,
Lhnde sing cnccn;
Groweth sed, and bloweth med,*
And springth the wdef nn,

Sing, cnccn 1

" Awe J bleteth after lomb,
Lhonth§ after calve en,
Bnllnc 8terteth,|| bnck verteth,^

Miirie, sing cnccn !

'* Cnccn, cnccn, well sings thn, cnccn,
Ne swike** thn naver nn.
Sing, cnccn, nn, sing, cnccn.
Sing, cnccn, sing, cnccn, nn."

— Oldest English Song, about 1250 (Ritson's version,)

'* Tempns adest yeris, cncnlns, modo rnmpe soporem."

Ascribed to Bede.

POPULAR compend of the natural history of the cuckoo
might be drawn up from the various opinions afloat
regarding this darling bird, and the strains of the rural
muse in which these conclusions are embodied.
William Howitt, in his genial Book of the Seasons, adduces a
rustic rhyme of the shire of Norfolk, which commemorates, in faithful

♦ Meadow. f Weed. J Ewe. § Loweth.

II Leaps abont, gambles; ** stajtleB " ^Scottice,
% Goeth to harbonr in the yert or fern. — JSir J, Hawkins.
♦* Cease.

48 POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CUCKOO.

characters, the several epochs by which its summer pilgrimage in our
clime is distinguished, —

''In April, the cnckoo shows his bill ;
In May, he sings both night and day ;
In June, he altereth his tnne ;
In July, he prepares to fly ;
Come August, go he must."

The uneducated Suffolk man, in abhorrence of the sibilant 5, gives

it thus,—

'* In April, the cuckoo show his bill ;
In May, he sing both night and day ;
In June, he change his tune ; ^
In July, away he fly :
But in August, away he must.'*

The Hants song is a monologue,—

" In April, come I will ;
In May, I prepare to stay ;
In June, I change my tune ;
In July, I prepare to fly ;
In August, go I must."

Thus runs the Devonian version,—

" In March, the guku beginth to sarch ;
In Aperal, he beginth to tell ;
In May, he beginth to lay ;
In June, he alterth 'is tune ;
In July, away a dith vly."*

And other districts still further vary the lay. In Gloucester the say-
ing is to this purport, —

** The cuckoo comes in April,
Sings a song in May,
Then in June another tune.
And then he flies away."

♦ In Bray's Borders of the Tamar and Tavy there is a different version: —

" In the month of April, he opens his bill ;
In the month of May, he singeth all day ;
In the month of June, he alters his tune ;
In the month of July, away he doth fly.''

POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CUCKOO. 49

This, in Wiltshire, is converted into, —

" The cuckoo comes in April,
Stays the month of May,
Sings a song at Midsnnmier,
And then a goes away."*

Then there are other variations, —

OiM asks — " Cuckoo, cuckoo 1

What do you do ? "

Answer — " In April, I open my bill;

In May, I sing night and day ;
In June, I change my tune ;
In July, away I fly ;
In August, go I must'*

** In April, come he will ;
In flowery May, he doth sing all day ;
In leafy June, he doth change his tune ;
In bright July, he doth begin to fly ;
In August, go he must."

In Sussex it is added, as if an afterthought, —

" If he stay until September,
'Tis as much as the oldest man can remember, "f

With not less admirable reference to the calendar of nature, in
disclosing gems and odoriferous blossoms, the author of the Address
to the Cuckoo, saluting the " blithe new-comer," tells us,—

*' What time the daisy decks the green.
Thy certain voice we hear ;
Hast thou a star to guide thy path.
And mark the rolling year ?

** What time the pea puts on the bloom.
Thou fliest the vocal vale ;
An annual guest in other lands.
Another spring to hail."

♦ These rhymes are from the Gardeners* Chronicle, 1850, and the Athe-
naurHj 1846.

t Athenceuniy ibid,

VOL. II. B

50 POPULAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO.

The first two lines, however, are a re-adaptation of Shakspeare*s,—

<* When daisies pied, and violets bine,
And lady-smocks all silver white,
And cnckoo-bnds of yellow hne,
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cnckoo then on every tree

Sings cuckoo !'

In Northumberland also the working-man cherishes his traditionary
song of the seasons ; he, too, adduces some incident in the mysterious
tale not generally observed or known :—

" The cuckoo comes of mid March,
And cncks of mid AperUl ;
And ganns away of midsummer month,
When the com begins to fill.*'

Accordant with this is the version of the South of Scotland, part of
ancient Northumbria : —

<* The cuckoo comes in the middle of March,
And sings in the middle of April ;
And passes away at the Lammas-tide,
When the com begins to fill.*'

PeehUs-shire,*

The cuckoo sometimes makes its appearance considerably prior to
the date when the leafing woods and the sunny vales re-echo its
" two-fold shout;*

A common English couplet says :—

" The first cock of hay
Frights the cnckoo away."

The Lanarkshire ploughman believes that '^ the cookoo comes wi* a
haw leaf, and gangs away wi* a bear (four-rowed barley) head." It
is also said in the West of Scotland that the cuckooo flies away on the
first sight she obtains of barley in the ear.

The Rev. Gilbert White, of Selborne, in his calendar gives the
earliest and latest days of the cuckoo's arrival as the 7th and 26th of
April. In Cornwall, Mr. Couch, from 1810 to 1836, found it to be

♦ Mound the Change Faiiti^ p. 108.

POPULAlt HISTOEY OP THE CUCKOO. 51

from April 19th to May 18th.* Mr. Henry Doubleday, of Epping,
says, " The male cuckoo arrives about the middle of April (seldom
earlier than the 13th or later than the 20th) in the sonthem
coiinties."t Mr. Marsham, at Slratton, in Norfolk (in hia tables
laid before the Royal Society) from 1753 to 1788, observed its
earliest song from April 16th to May 7th. In the north of York-
shire it sings about the 26th or 27th of April. Mr. Selby found that
it arrived at Twizell House from April 26th to May 4th, Mr. Hep-
bum gives April 24th as the period for East Lothian ; while I, not bo
far north as his locality, but at a greater altitude, find it to be from
April 29th to May 15th ; in exceptional years as early as April 7th ;
but for the most part after the beginning of May ; thus corroborating
the testimony of an old Scottish poet ; —

" In May begins the golk to gail."

Alex. Scott's Gratidaiim fa the M<meth of May.

The latest periods I ever saw old cuckoos were the 2nd and 4th of
August, 1860-61. Young cuckoos are fledged at this period, but
tliose seen, the one in Berwickshire and the other in Northumberland,
wore the old plumage. In East Lothian the date of departure for
young birds is August 23rd. Those I saw were most likely stragglers,
fur Jenner states that " Old cuckoos take their final leave of the
country the first week in July," and Mr. Selby says the period of de-
parture of ihe old birds " seldom or never extends beyond the first
week in July ;" and Mr, Couch corroborates this. " At the beginning
of July the old birds disappear altogether at nearly the same day."
The epoch of the cuckoo's temporary visit to Germany is from St.
Tiburt's day (April 14th) to the feast of St. John the Baptist
(June 24th) ; rarely to the feast of St, James, July 25th ; but in Italy
not seldom protracted to the end of July.J

It is the popular belief in some parts of the country that the cuckoo

* tbr«((ft /Ji««fl, p. 18.
t Uardenera' Okranicle, 1851, p, ISS.

t Wolfgang Franiii Uiit. AHimalium, para ii, n Juhujiuu Cj-priuuii : Franco-
lurti eC LipsiED, 1712, ita. pp. 1299, 1304.
E 2

52 POPULAR lIlSTOIiY OF THE CUCKOO.

always makes its appearance on the '21st of April." In Sueses the
14th of April ie called "First Cnckoo Day."f In Scotland it is
phrased, " the gowk has come hanie." The 20th of April is the fair-
day of Tcnhnry, in Worcestershire, and there is a belief in that county
that you never hear the cuckoo till Tenbury fair-day, or after Pershore
fair-day, which is the 26th of Juite.f In Wales it is considered unlucky
to hear the cuckoo before the 6th of April, but " you will have pros-
perity," is the common saying, " for the whole year if you hear it on
the 28th ."§

In Scotland the coming of the lapwing to its breeding haunts from
its winter residence on the coast, about the beginning of March, is
heralded by several days of tempestuous weather, called from local
names of the bird " a peesweep or teuchit storm." So,

" When well-apparell'd April on the heel
0£ limping winter treads,"

the advent of the cuckoo calls forth the old season's spite, and the
consequence is, a "gowk stoim." Hence, in Craven, in Yorkshire,
it is 6aid—

" In the month of Ayeril,
The gowk comas over the hill

In s. ehower of rain."

The espression, a "gowk storm," is connected with a remarkable
historical incident. " The Marquis of Argyle, being executed for his
complicity in the Cromwellian usurpation, his son succeeded to the
title of Earl of Argyle only. Ho had repaired to London, in order to
make some interest at court, and had been persuaded that some of the
minions of Lord Clarendon — then at the head of affairs — would, for a
thousand pounds, undertake to procure for him that minister's patron-
age and favour. Argyle, upon this, wrote a confidential letter to
Lord Duffus, in which he told him that providing he could raise a
thousand pounds he would be able to obtain the protection of the

• Chambers' BooA of Dayi, i. p. 530.
+ Hone's Ikery Day Beoli, i. p. 466.
\ Notet and Qiieriel, 2nd seriea, i. p. 249,
g Dyer's Eaglitk t^itk-Lore, p. 67.

POPULAU HI8T0KY OP THE CUCKOO.

English miniator ; that in such a case he trusted the present would
prove but agowlt storm; and, after some depreciating expreBSions con-
cerning the preYailing partj in the Scottish Parliament, he added,
that ' then the king would see their tricks,' This letter fell into the
hands of Middleton (who then guided the Scottish realm), who
determined that for expressions, so innocent and simple, being, in
fact, the natural langnage of a rival conrtier, Argjie would be brought
to trial for leasing-makiitg. Argyle was condemned to lose his head
and forfeit his estate. He was respited, but was detained a prisoner
till the end of Middleton's government,"*

As a prognosticator of weather, " when it appears, the first claps of
thunder are heard in the sky announcing the season of heat."t " The
Germans connect the cnckoo with good weather, and countrymen do
not like to hear it before June, heeause, they say, the sooner he
comes, the sooner will he go." (Chambers' Popular Rhymes, p. 193.)
In Switzerland, when the cuckoo ventures near a town, especially if it
enters it, it forebodes rain or a great storm; and some fear a dearth
when it approaches houses. There it continues in full note till St.
John's Day in summer, hut, if cultivators hear it later, they dread that
the wine of Zurich will that season be sour.J In Germany, if it sings
after St. John's Day, grapes ripen with difficulty, and a scarcity of the
produce of the earth will reanlt.§

The bad weather it brings with it is little to its own advantage. A
Welsh distich tells how —

" The first week of May
Frights the cuckoo awaj,''||

In the rigorous weather of early May his voice becomes hoarse;
hence the German rustics allege that then his voice ia frozen.^

• TaUi of a. GruTtdfatluir, vol. ii. p. 191-3 (2nd series),
t Gnbernatia' Zeolegleal Hytholagy, ii. p. 231.

X C, Plinii Secundi, Deiteijdt^ermaerdeii Natuvr-kondigcrivijf Boecken,
Amsterdam, 1662, 12ino, p. 383.
§ Wolfgang Franz. parB ii. p. 1304.
II Mary Howitt'a Pictorial Calendar of Nature.
T Wolfgang Frani. uhi inp.

POPULAIl HlBTOltY OF TIIj! CUCKOO.

In some parts of England the spring quarter is knovm as " Cuckoo
time." In Shakspeare (ioi-e's Labour Lost) the cuckoo represents
Yer, or the spring. An eclogue attiibuted to the Venerable Bede,
inecribed " Cuculus," desyribes the cunflict of spring and winter.
Winter is at length told to cease his importunity, and allow the
harbinger of spring to arrive with all her grateful accompaniments,
which every one is anxious to welcome. In a second eclogue two
shepherds bewail the cuckoo's death which shall no more arouse the
spring with its gladsome lays." According to Grimm, the commence-
ment of spring is expressed in the old German law by the formula,
" When the cuckoo cries (wan der gauch gucket) j" and the Anglo-
Saxon, Codex Exoniensis, of the song of St. Guthlao, ascribes to this
bird the announcement of the year, " goacas gea'r bud on " — cuculi
iinnum nuntiavere. Thus also

" The merry cutkoo, messenger o£ Rprirg,
Ula Crampet shrill bath thrice alreacly Notmcled."

" Hark 1 how the jolly cackooa sing
Cnckoo I to welcome in the spring."

And with equal felicity, Grahame —

" How Bwcet the first Bonnd of the cnckoo's note ;

Whence is the magic pleasure of the sound 7

How do WD long recall the very tree,

Or bush, near which we stood, when on the ear

The nnexpectcd note cuckoo I agnin,

And yet ag&in, came down the budding vale I

It is the voice of spring among tbe trees;

It tells of lengtheuiug days, of coming bloom ;

It ia the symphony of many a Bong."t
It is a popular saw that —

" On the thifd of April

Cornea in the cackoo and nightingale."

• Ibid, p. 1306. The entire pieces are aaid to be inserted in DomaTii
Amph ttheatro,io\. i5B-7. The second may tie the meditcval poem quoted in a
note in Gnbematis' Zeol. Mythol. p. 233, iis preserved in Uhland's Schriftcn,
vol. iii. where the subject of lament is that the bird woald bo swallowed up in
crosaing tbe sea.

t nirda flf Scotland, p. r>7.

rOPULAU UISTUllY OF THE CUCKOO. 00

Ray also reoords that " the nightingale and cuckoo Bing hoth in one
month ;" bnt the hidden meaning may intend to contrast the quality of
ench bird's song, for, according to the line of King James I.,

" Dnlike the cnkkow to the Phjlomone ;"
or, as Portia declares, after speaking of the nightingale,
" He knows me us the blind maa knows the cnckoo,
By the baJ voice."

The cnckoo and the nightingale may be thna placed in contrariety,
in recollection of the fable that relates tbe contest of the two yery dis-
similar birds for pre-eminence in song. According to the stoij, tlio
asH being judge, as,°igned the prize to the cuckoo, for the reason that
he understood what it said ; but tho nightingale, whoso music was
beyond its comprehension, appealed from the unjust senteace to man,
who alone could properly appreciate it, and the judgment was re-
versed,* A German song of the sixteenth centary given in Uhland's
Sckrijlen, iii. p. 25, places the nightingale in opposition to the cuckoo.
The Hon. Horace Walpole and Miss Mitford agree in the expression
of their annoyance that the frequency of the cuckoo's note should
overpower those of the unrivalled songster. Of date Strawberry Hill,
.Tone 25, 1778, " I have found but one inconvenience," says Walpole,
" which is the host of cuckoos." " It is very disagreeable that the
nightingale should sing but half-a-dozen songs, and the other beasts
squall for two months together."f The iaiiy is still more indig-
nant about " the unison of the most delightful, the most various, and
the most powerful of all our songsters, with that tiresome, monoto-
nous, detestable bird." f Not such was tbe judgment of Fingal,
King of Men.

" Sweet ia the song of the throe aona of Meardba,
The cnckoo'B note in early Bnmmer,
And the echo of lond langhter in the wood." §

• Gobematia' Zaoloi/ical Mj/titlegy, 23S-6. Broderip'a Zeologinal Meinta-
tioni, pp. 70, 71.
f Otrresjiondence ef Soraee Walpole, ir. p. 110. London, 1820.
t J4fe of Mary Riiiiell Atitferd, by Bev. A. G. L'Estmnge, i. p, 192.
§ Kennedy's MetUifi$ of the Irith Celts, p. 240.

POPULAR HISXOltY OF THE COCKOO.

This, like thfl espreBsion of the ancient German aong of May, is tlie
nnvitiated titteraDCe of nn sophisticated nature —

" The cackoo with ita song Diakos ovcrj one gay.''

" In acme plaoee," remarks the Rev. T. F. Thiselton Djer, " there
a popular prognostication from the fact of the cuckoo or nightin-
gale being first heard. Thus the poet Milton, in his ' Sonnet to the
Nigbtingale,' says ; —

' Thy liquid notes that close the eve of day,
First heard before the shallow cndioo's bill
Portends socceas in love.'

" This piece of Polk- Lore ia alao alluded to by Chaucer in his poem
entitled ' The Cuckoo and the Nightingale.' lu the modernised ver-
sion by Wordsworth, it is said : —

■ Bnt tOBBing lately on a sleepless bod,
I of a token thought which lovers need :
Eow among them it was a common tale,
That it was good to hear the nightingale.
Ere the Tile cacfcoo'a note be ottered.' " •

I- It has been a fond conceit with many, that husbandmen ought to
be guided at aeed-time by the indications that natural phenomena
supply of the suitability of the season for engaging in their operations.
It prevailed among the ancients, who drew the omens they could most
depend on from birds ; and Stillingfleet, of blue-stocking memory,
familiarized ns again with the notion. Thus Hesiod, the earliest
Gcorgical writer, informs «a " That if it should happen to rain three
days together when the cuckoo sings among the oak-trees, then late
sowing will be as good as early sowing," f According to Aristophanes,
" The cuckoo formerly goTemed all Egypt and Phrenicia, becansa
when that bird appeared it was time for wheat and barley harvest,"J
Looking forward to the return of fine weather in spring, the Norfolk

• Engiith FoDtrLore, p. 73.

t Stillingfloet'9 TraeU, p. 225.

t StillingflccfB Srlrrl Wnrhi, ii, 390.

POPULAR HIBTORY OF THE CUCKOO. 57

people say " When the cuckoo has picked up the dirt."^ Lord Bacon
nlBo mnkee the remark, *' Swallows, battB, cuckoos, &c, that come to-
wards Bummor, if they come early, show a hot summer to follow. "'I'
From some such ohserTstion it may have been that a Norwich fanner
wrote in the Bath Papers, vol. v. page 2G6, " Sept. 9, 1789. The
preservt appearance for the greatest appearance of barley is from the
seed sown on the earliest eouod of the cuckoo, and while the bnda of
blackthorn were yet tui^id, than what was delayed to the frequent
note of the former, and the expansion of bloom in the latter." It
may have been a popular idea to sow barley then, for we find it in
Grabome's British Georgics —

" Soon as the earliest swallow skima the mead,
The hnrley sowing is by soma begun ;
While others wait nntil her clay-hnilt nest,
Conipleteil, in the window corner hang ;
Or till the school-boy mock the cackoo's note."

ThuB also, "it was a custom among the farmers in the southern
counties of Scotland never to sow tbeir peas till the swallows made
their appearance ."j; This is primitive practice, but, if the farmer was
to place dependence upon such pet times, he would soon become liable
to the same reproach as the vine-dressers mentioned by Pliny
(lib. Kviii. c. 26), " Who were anciently called cuckoos, i.e. slothful,
because they deferred cutting their vines till that bird began to sing,
which was later than the right time."^ In Berwickshire " gowk
oats " are those sown after the 1st of April. It is said of an early
March, " There will be no gowk oats this year," " In some districts
the following proverb is much used :

' Cnctoo oats and woodcock hay
Make a fanuei ran away.'

• R. Taylor, in Ann. Nat. Hint, xlii, p. 403.

t S>jli--a Syharum, p. 174.

t Thomas Wilkie's MSS,

§ Uorat. Sat. i. 7, v. 23. There is more on this reproach in Cyprian's Anite-
ta/iona n» Wol/gatig Franz, pp. 1305-6, a book I hsTB Beverat times referred lo,
anil in Gnbcrnutis' ^iiaJ. Mytlinl. ii. p. 233.

POPULAR IlISTORy OF THE CUCSOO.

This phrase, says a corveBpondent of Notes and Queries (3rd aeriea,
vol. T. p. 450), means that if tho spring ie so backward that the oats
cannot he nown till the cuckoo is heard, or the antomn bo wet that
the latter-math crop of hay cannot he gathered in till the woodcocka
come over, the farmer is snrc to suffer great loss. In Norfolk, too,
one may frequently hear the poorer classes quothig the suhjoined
rhyme with reference to their agricultural pursuits ;

' When the weirling sbrieka at night,
Sow the seed with Che momiog light ;
But 'ware when the cnckoo swells its throat.
Harvest Gies from the moon call's note.'

' When the cnckoo purls its feathers, the housewife should become
chary of her egge,' is a popular saying in many parts of the country."*
Another agricultural omen, taken from this bird, is given by Ray —
" When the cnckoo comes to the bare thorn.
Sell your cow and buy you com ;
BuC when she comes to the full bit,
Sell JODT com and buy jon sheep."
" It portends misfortune to the Servian baiduken when the kukaritza
(cuckoo) appears early and comes out of the black wood, but good
luck when his cry comes from the green wood." — (Orimm).

Everything about this bird is matter of wonder. The time is not
long past when the cuckoo was feigned to derive its summ
from the eggs of helpIesH warblers, whose trim nests it rifled : —
" The CDcboo's a bonny bird, he whietlea aa he flies ;
He brings us good tidings, he tells us no lies.
He sacks little birds' eggs, to make his voice clear ;
And never Biags cnckoo I till summer draws near.
Sings cuckoo in April, cnckoo in May,
Cuckoo in June, and then flies away."t

• Dyer's Iblk-Lore, pp. 60, 61. See also Ntitei and Queries, ith ser. t,
633.4, and ii. p. 22.

+ Var. 1. " And never sings cnckoo till the springtime of year."

2. " And when he sings cnckoo the smnmer is near."

3. " Ho drinks the cold water to make his voice clear.

And he'll come again in the spring of nest year."
i. " He sncks tbe sweet flowers to make his voice clear."
6. " That she may sing cnckoo three months of th« year."

POPULAIl UlSTOttV OF TUB CUCKOO.

The Germans think that the cuckoo cannot cry til! he hae eaten a
bird's egg. Hence, perhaps, the Spanish proyorb, " I am like tlie
cnckou, which sing not until I have my atomach foil." • I should net
wonder if the common opinion is correct after all. Some of its kindred
are omnivorous. On Audubon's authority, the yellow-biUed cuckoo
of America roba smaller birds of their egga, which it sucks on all
occaaiouB. In two cuckoos that I e^camined — an old one in May,
and a young bird in August, the food consisted of caterpillars, rongh
and smooth, the shards of beetles, immense quantity of the aphides
(plant lice) of fir-trees in the young one, two or three seeds, a few
stones, and some blades and roots of grass. Swainson was of opinion
that from the form of ita nostrils, analogous to those of the toucans,
it is facilitated in the discorerj of the nests of those species in
which it deposits its eggs by its superior powers of smelLf It carries
its own egg in its month, that it intends to place with a foster-mother.
In Ireland one was shot, when the egg dropped fnim its mouth
entire, and was ascertained to be a cuckoo egg.J " I have," sajs
Mr. Edwin Lees, "seen the cuckoo flying along very early in the
morning with an egg in its mouth, most likely its own, which it was
conveying to the nest of some little warbler, according to its well-
known and singular economy."^ Le Vaitlant killed several speci-
mens of an African cuckoo (^Cuculus a'uraius) transporting eggs in
this manner. Other observers have seen a cuckoo with an egg in its
bill, bnt considered that it was practising robbery.

From this delicious speech- in vigoratmg element, then, to go on
with the popular view, it is, that it acquires that lucid intonation and
unfettered utterance that enables it to keep the spring-tide groves so
long resonant to its " wandering voice." When the date of the
feathered tribes' solicitude is completed, and instead of iragile eggs,
and callow yonng ones, in slim, unprotected abodes, full-fledged
broods flutter amid the boughs, and scuttle down into the brake beyond

* Dialognea appended 1o Minsbeu's Spanish Dietionary, 1(123.

t Magaxine of Zonlfgy and Botany, i, p. 431.

X Dublin JViie. Siat. Rcviem, January, 18BB, p. 25.

g Pictures of Nature around the Malvern MiUe, p. 16.

00 POPULAR niSTOKY OF THE CUCKOO.

the reach of the prying intnider, its once mellow notes grow hoarser
and huskier, imperfect and rednpHcate, nntil at length the bird's melo-
dious functions are entirely sngpeudeJ.

" In April the cnckoo can aing his song by rote i
tn June of tans she cannot sing a ndto ;
At first, iea-ieo, ioo-iiio, amg slirill can ihe do ;
At last kooJte, hiokii, /moke, ais hiitkct for one koa."

This is what South ey calls a "stuttering cuckoo." "a.d, 1815.
By Mr. Leathcs's I heard a stuttering cuckoo, whose note was cuc-
cuckoo, ciiccuokoo ; after three or four of which he brought out the
word rightly."" This is a circumstance well known to country
obseryers. The period of silence in Berwickshire is from Juno 26
to July 2 ; the latest date of hearing the cuckoo in East Lothian was
July 3. Near London " A Southern Faunist " bad heard it even to
the 9th of July. {Gmt. Mag. 1792, p. 506). In the course of six-
teen years Mr. Marwick never heard it after the 26th of June.
{Iaioi. Trans, vol, i.) "Cuckoo first beard April 27, last heard
Jnne 27. Mean of eleven years." (Jmijns' Observ.) : —

" Nor does sho ceoae
Her changeless not«, until the broom, fall blown.
Give warning that her time for Hight bag come."
Grahamb.

To its far extending, harrying excursions, then, it would he said,
we owe the never steady, ever-shifting intensity of its voice ; now
near, now remote, now clear, and now stifled, now silent, and now
hurried in breathless succession, now —

and now indistinctly stirring the ancient silence of the upland waste.
And in Berwickshire it is the persuasion that to this cause ia to be
ascribed its harsher second note, uttered among the leafy thickets at
uncertain intervals. This is only heard when the vagabond bird has
pounced npon some nest, and, being interpreted, implies " muck it

* Sonthey's Commim- Place Book, iv. p. B35,

POPULAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO.

out," i.e., make a. complete clearance. Unfortunately for the poet'a
credit, this note, as observation can testifj, is repeated hj one of the
birds when in pursuit of its mate ; it is also heard when it leaves a
branch, and occasionally both sexes are said to utter it when dis-
turbed. I have seen two cuckoos crossing a moor, one silent, and the
foremost uttering both " cuckoo " and " muck it out." How could
Kit North affirm, " She is always mute as she flies ? " " It ia now
pretty certain that both sexes can utter the cuckoo cry. There ia
still a third note, of a peculiar character, as if it had borrowed the
" blutter " of the curlew j seldom heard, except by those traversing
the sidea of the mountain glens, which the birds frequent in pairing
time. It has not obtained popular notice.

A correspondent to Limg Ago (p. 205), from North Notts, gives a
belief of some of the country people, that the male calls " cuckoo "
thrice in succession, and the female twice ; properly adding that " this
rule will not hold." It is also imagined that when the cuckoo is con-
verted into a hawk he can whistle and sing. — Ibid. When the com-
mon note changes towards the end of the season, rain ia approaching.
(North Yorkshire, Notes and Queries, 4th ser. ii. 355.)

In the South of England the cuckoo appears to he regarded as lie,
while in the North and in Scotland it is spoken of as she, and na the
only one of the species. I once asked a man if he did not think it
was the cocfc that sung, " I dinna ken," was the reply ; " I never
see nane but ane." The Slavonians alwaya represent the bird as a
female — ZezhuUce, who sits on an oak and bewails the transitoriness
of spring. " The Servian kukavitza was a maiden who long bewailed
her brother's death, until she was changed into tlie bird, the grey
kukavitza (' the plain-song cuckoo gray ') ; so also in Russian songs
it is a bird of mourning and melancholy, and Russian traditions
speak of her as a young maiden changed by an enchantress." f

" In Italy," saya Guberuatis, " we say, ' the years of the cuckoo,' and
in Piedmont, ' as old as a cuckoo,' to indicate great age. A mediievol
eclogue ascribes to the cuckoo the years of the sun, ' Phcebo comes

» JVbctei AmbmiiantB, iv. p. 13,
t Grimm'a Veiitmke MytJwlogie,

1. Nat. Hilt, s

POPULAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO.

annus iu Kvum..* As no one EceB hoiv the cuckoo disappears it is
supposed that it never dies, that it is always the same cuckoo that
sings year after year in the samo wood," •

In her presumed egg-huntiug excorsions the cuckoo is pursued by
troops of small birds, all up on the defensive and twittering in dismay,
for they have misapprehended lier homely gray vesture and equivocal
shape for those of a hawk. One only of that numerous train has
she selected as her bosom friend ; it is her inseparable associate, and
becomes her tool. In some places this shadow of authority, usually a
meadow pipit or " moss cheeper " (Anihus pratensis), is entitled " the
cuckoo's titling," and why the connection exists no one can divine,
unless it be that the cuckoo has secret intentions of engaging a foster-
norse to attend to the dnties of incubation, for which in her own
person she has no hearty relish or deeply urgent desire. It is the
opinion of the Durham labourer that this small bird is the " cuckoo's
Sandie," The cuckoo is of the hawk kind, and inclines to regale her-
self with the dainties of wild game and so forth, but " has neither
the beak, the toes, the claivs, the courage, nor the strength of a bird
of prey." She assumes this bird as her caterer, who dismembers the
birds they contrive to catch and feeds her therewith ; hence the pro-
tection vouchsafed and the inexplicable union. A correspondent of
The Gentleman's Magazine for 179G, p. 117, says, "The peasantry of
Devon and Cornwall believe the cuckoo feeds on the eggs of other
birds, and that tlie lillle bird, as they call it, accompanying him (the
Yuni^ Tm-quilia, wryneck or summer bird) searches for them for that
purpose and feeds him." The wryneck prefers the South of England,
and has generally been considei-ed not to be distributed further north
than Morpeth, although there are several instances recorded of its
occurrence in Scotland. It precedes the cuckoo's arrival by about a
week, and is variously known as the " cuckoo's maiden, mate, or
marrow," and the " cuckoo's attendant, messenger, or harbinger."
Its Swedish name is Goktita. Mr, Broderip relates that in this
country a pair of red-backed shrikes have been seen feeding a young

hul Milthi'logij, ii. p. 236.

POPULAR niSTOKY OF THE CUCKOO. 63

fnclcoo, aiid hence probably the proviiicial name for tie shrike, as in
Herefordshire for instance, where it in called " tho cuckoo's maid." *
In the moorland districts, for often there,

" From the neighbouring rales,
The cni:koo stroRgling up to the hill tops
Shouteth faint tidings of Home gladder place,"

its common follower is tho meadow pipit. In some parts of Scotland
this is termed the teeting, in Orkney the titing, and in Yorkshire the
moor-tite. This nearly resembles tiitting, the Swedish name for the
common sparrow. But we have another titling (Tyttlbgur, Icelandic,
ft sparrow) in the hedge-sparrow (^Accentor modvlaris), called also the
hemp-sparrow, tho latter a name in Sweden for the domestic sparrow.
Mnffett calls his Curnica, whatever he may have meant by the term,
" the titling, cncknel, or unfortunate nuree, for the cnckoo ever lays his
egg in the tiiling's nest."'|" The Complaint of Scotland says, " The
titlene foUowit the goilk, and gart her sing guk, guk." Its diminu-
tive size contrasted with that of its patron has originated the pro-
verb, " Like the cuckoo and the tit-lark," " the cuckoo and the little
bird," " the gowk and the titling," applied to two disproportionately
sized animals or to one who obsequiously follows another. " Many
on old apple-woman at the fairs," says Qalt in Sir Andrew Wylie,
"on seeing the gonk and the titling approach (as two boys were
called) watched their tempting piles of toys and delectables with gleg
een' and staff grasped to repel some pawkie aggression."

In Ireland, the charitable wish is sometimes heard, if two people
aio quarrelling, " May you never hear the cuckoo nor the little bird
that follows it," It is believed that tho latter bird is ever trying to
gi't into the cuckoo's mouth. If this should once happen, "the end
of the world 'ould come." {Long Ago, p. 2-18.)

From the notion that in her predatory vocation, with " Saudie " as
provider, she talks more than she works, has arisen a popular reproach,
which I once picked up near Newcastle —

• Zoological Becreaiieui, p, 73.
t Mnffett's Healtk'i Intprovement, p

roruLAit ursTOUY of the cuckoo.

" Cuckoo, HCftbb'd gowk,
Mitkle said, little wrought."

Ray, in his Proeerbs, has " bb scabbed as a cuckoo," and in
Lovell'a History of Animals, ^c. p. 193, Oxford, 1661, it is related
"their featbers came off in winter, and they are ecabbed," "As
scabbed ob a enckoo," says a correspondent of Science Gossip, 186G,
p. 184, "is a common saying in Yorkshire, and I certainly never
had hold of any living thing from which such an amount of scurf
comes off as from a young enckoo." The Annotator on Franiivs,
part ii. p. ISOfi, says, " the cuckoo is an unclean, nasty bird, particu-
larly in winter, when, having lost its feathers, its body is scabbed all
over, whence there is a proverb among us — ' a man scabbed as a
cuckoo.' "

That the oiickoo ia a hawk is no recent fabrication. Aristotle, and
after him Pliny, mentions that it was the belief of some, that during a
jmrtion of the year it was convei+ed by the alteration of its voice, shape,
and plumage, into a real bird of prey ; but the first of these naturalists
was not convinced — for their physical structure did not correspond, aud
he knew that hawks killed cuckoos and ate them, which they would
not have done had they been consanguineous. In the South of York-
shire, as Mr. Heppenstall once wrote to me, "the jonng bird is taken
for a hawk, and is said to tnm to one in winter." " In Plntarch {Life
of Aratos) the enckoo asks the other birds why they flee from his
sight, inasmuch as he is not ferocious ; the birds answer that they
fear in him the future sparrow-hawk." {Zool, Mythol, ii. p. 235.)

The old cuckoo being accounted predaceous, no wonder that its off-
spring fleshed itself by making a meal of its foster-parents. " In se
nutricem eonvertit" (Pliny) was true natural history in the days of
Shakspeare.

'■ The hedge-sparrow fed the enckoo bo long.
That it had its heftd bit off by its young."

Siitg Lear.

" Aud being fed by na, yon na'd na bo
Afl that ungentle gnll, the cackoo'a bird,
UsDth the Hporrow : did oppress our iiost ;

POPULAIl HISTOKT OF THE CUCHOO. 65

Grew by onr feeding to ao great a bulk

That evon onr loye dnrat not come near yoar flight,

Fur fear of ewallowing."

ilnj Tleari) IV,

It was at one time also blamed for devoTiring all its compauiona in
the noBt ; because, as soon as the youDg cuckoo emerged from the
shell, all appearance of birds or eggs was removed from the neist,*
But it was shown hy Jenner that it cliucka these overboard by rising
with a Gudden spring after it has crept beneath them and got tbo
luckless (7oriZe(a into a hollow on its back. To the supposed ungra-
cious treatment of its nurse, responds the German proverb, " Thou
rewardest me as the cuckoo did the hedge-sparrow." Among tlio
Declamations of Philip Melancthon there is one — tom. i. p. 643 — ■
" On the Ingratitude of the Cuckoo," an oration delivered in the year
1537. There are some extracts from it in Cyprian's Notes on
Fraruivs, ii. p. 1302. The French have a proverb, " Ingrat comma
un concon."

The cuckoo moults about the end of March. f Wien it reaches
Europe it looks so feeble that it was fabled that it had been trans-
ported on the buck of the kite (Isodori Oriy. lib. xii. cvii.) Its low
short flights at this period are not from weakness, but that it may
select its food, which is tben principally on or near the ground. The
birds are tben so lean as to justify the French proverb, " Maigre
comme nn coucou " — as lean as a cuckoo. The young birds in autumn
are very fat, and their flesh was considered a delicacy in ancient, as it
still is in modem, Italy.

Everyone has heard of the " seven sleepera," once " devoutly be-
lieved in as an almanac, who formed a favourite nursery chant "—

" Seven sleepera there be —
The bat, the bee, the bntterflee,
The cnckoo and the swallow.
The kiltiwnke luid the com-craik,
Sleep a' in a little hollio."

• Constable's Edinburgh Mtigaiin
t EdiabHrgh Phil. Jatimal, n.E. i

, April, iai8.
(IMBB), p. 200.

POPULAR I1I8TOKY Of TUE CUCKOO.

How confirmatory of theHefirBt lines in physical lore is Willonglibj's
tale, which, however, he did not believe, of the cuckoo torpid in a
bundle of feathers in the hollow of an oM tree, which shouted cuckoo
in the niiiist of winter when aroused by the heat of a bIotb ; or that
other Bewick telle of, which giving its captors the slip in upring, as it
fled across the Tyne, wickedly cried *' Cuckoo!" nil nlong as it went.
But the notion is a very old one.

" But the warm ano thaws the henumbed earth.
And makes it tender ; gives h sacred birth
To the dead swallow, wakes in a hollow tree
Tbe drowsy euckoo and the htuublo boo."

Casew.

" Thiek-liDGd with musa, which, thongh to little boot,
kit.'emed ox a shelter it had leodlng been
Agaiust cold winter's storms nud wreakfal tecD ;
For in his bellow trunk uud perished grain
The cuckoo now bad many a winter laio."

BaoWHB.

A story of niuiiJar import is told in Agricola De Anivmntihus Subter-
rands, of which the date as a separate work is 1549 ; but in another
form, 1521. OeBOur alludes to it as a fable of Swiss origin. In
Gtissendvs S'lii/sica, &e. the cuckoo is said to have issued from a
Christmas log in Champagne. A very circumstantial relation of a
like occurrence is given by Jean Faber in his book on the Animals of
Mexico, Home, 1628, which may be found quoted in Cyprian's Notes
on FTanzhts, p. 1304. Aristotle asserts " that many birds, and not a
few as some imagine, hide themselves in holes j" and that " sage
philosopher," Alexander Ross, puts on the cope-stoiie : " Swallows,
cuckcows, dormise, &c. live all the winter without any chiliflcation or
action of the stomach."* It is from the reported deplumed condition
of tlie cuckoo in winter that the proverb originates, " As naked as a
ouckoo," which I have heard in Northumberland applied to a prodigal.
" As naked as the cuckoo in Christmas " occurs in Uekkcr's GuWs
Hornbook, IC09 {Hindlcy's Reprint, p. 20J.

POPULAK HISTOKT OP THE CUCKOO,

What, then, becomes of the cuckoos when they disappear? They
aro, it seema, conmiitted to the custody of an irascible old woman iu
Snsaex, to whose fits of temper is owing the in'egular distribution of
the birds throughout the rest of the country. In spring the cuekoo-
keeper "fi!la her apron with them, and — if she is in a good humour —
allows several to take flight, but only permits one or two to escape if
anything has happened to sour her temper."*

A notion prevailed at Lorbottle, a small inland town in Northum-
berland, that the cnckoo was the canse of summer. These silly folks,
popularly known as " the coves of Lorbottle," agreed that, if she could
be secured "within a pinfold there," they would never have vriater
more. One particular plantation was noted, whither she was accus-
tomed most frequently to repair, and utter her notes earliest and most
mellow. It was evidently a favourite haunt, where she loved to
linger. This it was determined to environ with a wall, to render
her stay perpetual, and give her unqniet footsteps rest. They were
encouraged to this also by the short flights the bird takes in spring.
The waU was reared in haste and with solicitude, but, alas, just as it
was completed and a home prepared, the capricious and ungrateful
bird glided quietly over the top, "■ and flapped her well-fledged wings
and sped away." Thus perished all hopes of Lorbottle's being blessed
with & never-ending summer. It is still, however, a fondly cherished
opinion among the seniora of the place that if the wall had only been
elevated a little higher the darling project would have been achieved.

" Certain Comishmen," according to Mr. Hunt, " built a wall
around the cuckoo to prevent that bird from leaving the county, and
thus insure an early spring. When built the bird flew out, crying,
' Cnckoo ! cuckoo 1' ' If we had put one course more on the wall we
should a' kept 'n in,' said they."f

A similar design was once entertained by that sage race, the wise
men of Gotham. They, too, attempted to hedge in the cnotoo.J The
story is as follows : — On an eminence about a mile south of Gotham, a

• Fidk-Lofe Record, L p. 17.

t Fojmlar Moi/uiitcct of tke Weit of England, p. 126

X GeMlemati') Maganine, Jnne, I79fi, p. 6SH.

POPliLAU niBTOltV OF THE CUCKOO.

villngo of NottinghamBliiro, Btands a bnah known aa the " Cuckoo
BubIi," which rcpreeeata an older one connected with one of the
lugends that has given notoriety to that place. King John was once
inarching towardfi Nottingham, and intended to pass through Gotham
meadow ; hut the villagers, believing that the ground over which a
king went become for ever afterwards a public road, to save their
right of common, contrived means for preventing the king from going
in that direction. The king, incensed, sent messengers to inquire the
reason of their incivility, intending, doubtless, to punish them, by fine
or othenviso, for their rude behaviour. When the king's servants
arrived " they found some of the inhabitants endeavouring to drown
an eel in a pond ; some dragging their carta and waggons to the top
of a ham to shade a wood from the sun's rays ; some tumbling cheeses
down a hill in the expectation that they would find their way to Not-
tingham market ; and some employed in hedging in a cuckoo whieh
had perched upon an old bush. In short, they were all employed in
Btich a manner as convinced the king's officers that they were a village
oi fools, and consequently unworthy of his majesty's notice. They,
of course, having outwitted the king, imagined that they were wise.
Hence arose the saying, ' The wise fools of Gotham.' ""

An original " Merry Tale," as reprinted by J. 0. Halliwell, of the
Gjothamites and the cuckoo, is this : " On a time the men of Gothani
would fain have pinn'd {sic) in the cuckoo, whereby she should sing
all the year; and in the midst of the town they had a hedge made
round in compass, and they had got a cuckow, and put her into it,
and said, ' Sing here, and yon shall lack neither meat nor drink all
the year.' The cuckow, when she perceived herself encompassed within
the hedge, she Bew away. ' A vengeance on her,' said the wise men,
' we made not our hedge high enough,' " (Notes arui Queries, 4th
Her, vol. iv. pp. 305--6.1

The wise men of Somersetshire once attempted to solve the
mysteries of cuckoo-life by building a high wall round an unfledged
cuckoo, in which they fed and kept it like a prisoner of state. " The

• Chambers' Sooh of Days, i. pp. 462..S.

POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CUCKOO. 69

bird quietlj grubbed until it was flodged, when it spread its wings
and easily flew over tbo high wall and escaped. The wise men had
forgotten to roof their encloBiire — they had penned the cuckoo but had
forgotten that it would fly." Hence they were derisively called
" Cuekoo-pennera." {Ihid.)

FuJko Greville, Lord Brook (1554-1628), declares—

" Foota only hedge bhe cackoo in."

The cuckoo is singular among British birds, so admirable in their
domestic relations, for consigning its eggs and yonng to the care and
nnrture of another, which is silly enough not to detect the guile.
Whence does this, one would suppose, unnatarol alienation of the
parent from its offspring spring ; and that —

" She, aJona of all the umnmoronB foatliorsd tribes,
Passes a atraoger'B life without a home ?"

" According to the Bohemian creed, the festivals of the Virgin Mary
used to be held sacred, oven by animals ; and birds, for instance, took
particular care not to work at their nests on those days. The cnckoo,
having infringed that custom, was cursed, and obliged to wander per-
petnally, without ever a nest of its own.'" In Denmark a different
Holntion has been arrived at. " If you wish to know why the cnckoo
bnilda no nest of its own," that Mr. Horace Marryat can easily explain
Bcoording to the belief in Denmark. " When in early spring-time
the voice of the cuckoo is first heard in the woods, every village girl
kisses her hand and asks the question, ' Cuckoo ! cuckoo 1 when shall
I be married ?' and the old folks, home down with age and rheuma-
tism, inquire, ' Cuckoo, when shall I be released from this world's
care 7' The bird, in answer, continues singing, ' Cuckoo !' as many
times as years will elapse before the object of their desires will come
to pass. But as some old people live to an advanced age, and many
girls die old maids, the poor bird has so much to do in answering the
questions put to her, that the building season goes by ; she has no

• Bttron Rrnouf on Bohemian Superstition 9, in Eceeiw Contcmppraine, 1861.

POPULAR HISTORV OF THK CUCKOO.

time to make her nest bnt lays her egg in that of tho hctdge-Bparrovr ."•
The opinion of the muirlanii ehepiierds on tho Borders is, that the
blame, at least, attaches not to the female party, hut is attributable to
the brutish behaviour of the male. He, a very Saturn among birds —
if allowed his will — would speedily exterminate the cuckoo mce.
Such is his inveteracy against eggs or offspring, that, if the female i
attempted incubation, he would forthwith expel her from the nest, '
break the eggs, and gobble up in his wrath their entire valuable or
tents. Therefore, to preserve the breed, she must have recourse to all
those expedients hy which she contrives to have the egg conveyed
out of his reach, and palmed upon some foolish dupe, that in the
enthusiasm of hatj^hing cannot distinguish an egg from a pebble-stone. 1
On account of the stratagems which she employs to effect this, the
Greeks, contrary to other nations, oousidered her as being endued with
peculiar sagacity, and had a proverb, which has been rendered,
" Coccyce aatntior," i.e., 'cuter than the cuckoo (Krasmi Adagia).
She—

" Doom'ii

Never the Byinpntlietie joj W know,

That warms the mother cowering o'er her jiinnB,

Some fltrangoT robs ; nnd to that stmnger'a love

Her egg commitB, unnntm'al ; tho nurae,

Deladed, the voracions uofltling feeds

With toil unceasing ; aad tunnz'd beholds

lis form gigantic and discordant hue."

GlSBOBHE.

Prom this imposition of its offspring upon an alien, unaware of the
deceit, has sprung the connection between the bird and cnckoldism
which pervades nearly every language in Europe, and also occurs in
the East among the Arabians. Hence the Welsh proverb, " Wlien
tiiou hearcst the cuckoo cry, take timely heed to thy ways, for it may
be that he warns thee to a straighter lino of duty ;" and thus it is
" the cuckold's quirister " of Oroen ; and Shakspeare's

" Word of f ear
Unpleasant to a married ear."

• Jiitlanil nnd the Danish Isles, i. p. 270.

POPULAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO. (1

But the idea in this oonntry is literary rather than indigenous, and
may have been derived from the Normans. In the passage from
classic to mediieval periode, the application of the term has been
transferred from the paramour to tlie liusbaud.*

The cuckoo's conimection with marriage ceremoniea may date from
the period when Jupiter or Zeus wooed Juno or Hera, who presided
over marriages, in the shape of a cuckoo on Mount Thornax, which
Bfterwards obtained from that circumstance the name of Coecys or
Coccygia. (PauBanias, Corinth, cap. xxxvi.) Pausanias, Corinth,
cap. xvii. saw in a temple of Juno fifteen stadia from Myceute, a town
of Argolis, a statue of the goddess in ivory, of very great size, the
work of Polyclctes. She wore a crown on which were represented the
graces and the seasons, and held a pomegranate, emblem of fertility,
in one band, and a iceptre, on which was placed a cuckoo, in the other.
In a bas-relief representing the marriage of Zens and Hera, a cuckoo
aits npon the god's sceptre, " According to Mannhardt the cuckoo
ia the messenger of Thor, the god in whose gift were health and
strength, length of days and marriage blessings, and therefore it is
that people call upon the bird to toll !iow long they have to live, how
soon they will be married, and how many children they shall have ;
and that in Schaumburg the person who acts at a wedding as master
of ceremonies carries a cuckoo on his staff." (Mannhardt, Die Gotlei-
welt der Deutscken nnd Nordischen Volker, p. 198.)t In Germany of
old the cuckoo was carried on the fist, like a hawk, to the church.

Jealousy, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, had a "cukkow sittyng on
hire hand."

tinbematis says that the song of the cuckoo was considered a good
omen to whoever intended to marry. " In the popular song of the

• See ChambecB' Book of Dayi, i. p
334 ! Cjprian's Annotatimu on fratvct

t Kelly's European Traditiom and, Folk-Lorr, p.
Ifotea on Franzma, pp. 1396-7.

I Brant's Ship of Fools, traaalalad by Barclay, 1508.

[ Gnbematia' Zool. UlytTiol. u. p.
1300.

« ftlno Cyprian's

POPULAR HiSTOItY OF THE CUCKOO,

Moiifermto, sung for the Easter eggs, the landlord is cnnningly J
QdTiseii that it is time to marry his daughters. In Swedish and
Danish songs the cuckoo carries the weddiiig;-nut to the nuptials,"
{Zool. MythoU ii. p. 232). In Sweden the " grey cuckoo up in the
tree " prophecies to unmarried lasses how many years they shall
remain single. If the bird cries oftener than ten times, they say it ,
sita upon a silly bough, and they pay no heed to its augury. — (^Grimm).
In Goethe's Fruhling's-Orakel the prophetic bird announces to a fond
couple their approaching marriage, and the number of their children.
In its character as a derider, Gubematis notes, that, when " children
play at hide and seek, they are accustomed in Germany and Italy, as
well as in England, to cry out ' Cuckoo ' to him who is to seek them, ,
in Tain, as is hoped." (ii. p. 233.)

Young cuckoos are stupid creatures, and ill adapted to take care of
themselves as pets. I am told of ono brought up on porridge that
got scalded to death, from flying into the pot newly off the fire : thus
perishing amidst what it most sought after. Another may be read of .
that daily consumed its " pound of flesh," but was at lost choked by j
attempting to swallow some moss that was in its cage. A relative,
when a hoy, reared one on meal and water, and then turned it into tha
garden to provide for itself on the gooseberry caterpillars, which it ]
soon learned to collect ; but, having paid too great attention to the
inmates of some bee-hives, for it can feed on hees, it was stung to
death by the " genus irritahile."

From a similar defect of quick- wittedn ess are derived the terms
gowk and gawhie, applicahle to stolid specimens of humanity. This
idea is common to other Teutonic languages, and in the Celtic, says
Mr. Douce, coeg and kok signify anything foolish.

What a " gowk's nest " is, the following anecdote will explwn. 1
Andrew Gemmela, a Scotch heggar in the Border districts, the st
posed original of Edie Ochiltree, on one occasion " went to visit c
of his patrons, a poor Scotch laird, who had recently erected an ei*l
pensive and fantastic mansion, of which he was very vain, and whicle
but ill corresponded with his rank or his resources. The beggar h
standing leaning over his pike-staff, looking very attentively at tbj

POPDLAR HISTORY OF THE CUCKOO,

edifice, when the laird came forth and accosted him, ' Weel, Andrew,
you're admirmg our handiworka here ?' ' Atweel am I, sir.' ' And
what tliink ye o' them, Andrew 7' ' I juist think je hae thrawn away
twa honny estates, and built a gowk's nest.' "*

A " cnckoo tune," is to harp on one string; to weary by iteration,
" Cantus Coccygia dioitur de iis, qui eadem ingerant semper." Hence
Young's Bomhre shading —

" Tlia CQckoo aeasoDS aiog
The same dall note to aucb aa nothing prize
Bnt what those seasons from the teaming earth
To doting sense iudnlge."

In the golden age of the North the cnckoo's song measured time.
In the mythic King Frodi's honse were two maidens of the old giant
race, whom he had bought as slaves. He made them grind his quern
or hand-mill, out of which he used to grind peace and gold ; and was
a hard taskmaster, for he kept them to the mill, nor gave them longer
rest than the cnckoo's note lasted, or they conid sing a song.'j'

It early became a proverb in Scotland that " the goik hes na sang
but ane " (Sir D. Lindsay's Papinga). In Ferguson's Scots Proverbs,
cited in Dean Ramsay's Reminiscences, we hare it, " ye brieii of
(take after) the gowk, yo have not a rhyme hut ane ;" but the more
modem saying is, " Tou're like the gowk, you have not a rane but
ane ;" or " Ye're like the cuckoo, ye have but one song ;" which ifl
a parallel to the German, " Du singest imraer einen Gesang, wie der
Guckguck." And thus in the sixteenth century were the Romish
clet^ reproached by the Reformers : —

" Sen yo will nocht change yonr indnred will,
Knawand yonr faalt, yet will continae still )
Sing on — gnk, gnk, the blaiting of yonr qnier i
False fathers of the halj kirk, Uio Xvi. hnnder yeere." J

Like their countrymen of the present time, they liked " nane o'

• CoostMe'a Edinburgh Magazine, Sept. 1817.

f Uaaent'a IntruduetiBK to the Nei-ie Talet, p. 52.

J Seett'iih Poeiin) ef the SixteeiilA,CBntKri/,\Lji. 17*. John Knos, aicknamcd
Gavin Donbar, Archliiahop of Glasgow, whom he calls a "glorious tool," as
" Gooil Giiokiloai- Glakestone.''

74 POPDLAH niSTOKY OF THE CUCKOO.

your kind o' folk that do nacthing but cliim-cham at tbe same thing
ower again, like the gowk ou a June day," (Hogg.) This last is
Shakspearc's r —

" He WHS but as tbe cackoo is in June,
Heard, not regarileil."

£inff Henry IV.

It is also the opening Bentenco of the Gull's Hornbook,
sing, like the cuckoo in June, to be laughed at." In Germany when
one indulges in oateutatioiiB, silly, worthless talk, it is said, " Der
guckguck rufTet seinen eignen nahnien bus " {the cuckoo proclainia
his own name). In Tennyson's Lover's Tale it is said, and truly :

"We loved
Tlie sonnd of one another's voices mora
Tban the grey enckoo lores hia name.''

" Cuckoo -lamb 8 " is a name given in Hertfordshire, and also in I
Northamptonshire, " to such lamha as are yeaned in April and May, ■
because they fall in cuckow time." (Ellis on Sheep, p. 79.) '
" Cuckoo-malt," in Warwickshire, is " malt made in the sumi
months." (IlalliweH's Archaic Dictionary), "To see the gowk inoae'a J
sleep, to be given to vagaries, (Fifeshire) ; also used as a proverbial
phrase, denoting a change of mind, in consequence of conviction that I
one is in error." (Jamieson'a Scottish Dictionary). " Coucon," \
some sort of undignified carriage in the environs of Paris, is men-
tioned in Miss Berry's Journal, iii. p. 391.

It is said of a lawless Highland chieftain, Macdonald of Saddell,
Lord of Cantire, who was sumamed " High Fiongal," that he was
accustomed to amuse himself bykeeping watch from the battlements
of his castle, and firing at any suspicious-looking person with a gun
that he called " the cuckoo," the notes of which, as may be imagined,
were listened to with less delight than those of the " blithe new-comer
of the spring."'

Tbe Caucasus mountains, say some authorities, derive their name

• Glencreggan; er, a Highland Home in Cantire. Itj"Cnthberfc Bode."

POPULAIl IliSTOKY OF THE CUCKOO.

from the cuckoo. In 12 Edward III. (1337-8) Gouxhnll manor,
CO. Lincoln, belonged to John de Roos (Calend, Jnq. post Mortem,
ii. p. 85). It is also written GouxliiU, Goushill, Gonshnll (/,c).
Another GonxLill or Goushill belonged to the Abbey of Thornton-ou-
Humber (vol. iU. pp. 9, 65, and vol, i, p. 107). These appear to he re-
presented at present in Goxhill parish, eo. Lincoln, and Goxhill parish,
CO. York. Goukwell, in Lincolnshire, 6 Ric. II. (1382), was part of the
dowry of Anne, Queen of England. {Ibid. iii. p. 54). Gokewell or
Gowkeawell Nnnnery, co. Lincoln, was founded before 1185; it in
writteu Goukeswell in Cal. Inq.poel Mart. iii. p. 831, In 41 Edward
III. Qoukethorp, co. Norfolk, was a feu held fi-om Robert de Insula
{Ibid. ii. p. 292), Gonthorp and Gowethorp are old similar names in
Yorkshire, now converted into Yawthorpe. In 8 Henry IV. (1406)
Margai'et, Dowager Countess of Thomas de Beaiichamp, late Earl of
Warwick, held a free chapel situated beneath the Park of '
which was called Coukowechirchle (76r'rf. vol. iii. p. 312).
Park was parcel of Warwick Castle and manor. In 21 Ric. II.
(1397) Thomas, Eail of Warwick, held Cukkechirch land and pasture
beneath the Park of Wiggenok (iii. p. 225). Guckfield, co.
Sussex, and other corresponding place-names, can only dubiously
be arranged here. In the reign of William the Lion in Scotland
(1165-1214) there was a " Cukouebum," in the territory of Clifton,
Roxburghshire, pertaining to the monastery of Melrose {Libej' <h
Mailros, No. 113). In Dumbartonshire, on Arden estate, there is a
Gowk Hill. The Goukthropple, in old writs Golkthrapple, lands are
on the estate of Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire. Giodscroft, the estate
of David Hume, the historian of the Douglasses and Homes, it inva-
riably mispronounced Gowkscroft, This perversion occurs also in
Teesdale. Eohert Rosby, " the Reodswater Minstrel," has rendered
Davyshiels, near Otterbnm, famous for its " gowka ;" and hke him
thus a Gaelic bard celebrates the charms of his mountain abode ; —

Pennycnik in Midlothian implies the height of the cuckoo. Of the

POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CUCKOO.

Pcnycuik cnckooa, P. F. Tytler, the historian, gives ub information,
singularly to the purpose, in a letter to his Bister, He was present in
Paris when Louis XVIII, made his appearance at the theatre, 24th
May, 1814. " The moment the king entered the house, the most loud
and universal applause began and continued without interruption, till
tlie people (like the cuckoos at Penicuik) had cried themselves hoarse,
and the words Vive U Roi, Vive la Duchease, Vive Monsieur, Vive leu
Bourbons, hecame quite inarticulate."* Quite a cuckoo scene !

" There is found a similitude," says Lord Bacon, " hetweene the
sound that is made by inanimate bodies, or by animate bodies that
have no voice articulate, and divers letters of articulate voices; and
commonly men have given such names to those sounds as doe allude
unto the articulate lettei'S. As trembling of water hath resemblance
with the letter L; quenching of hot metalls with the letter Z; snarl-
ing of dogs with the letter E; the noise of scritch-owles with the letter
Sh; sounds of strings with the letter Ng; voice of cats with the
dipthong£u; voice of cuckoes with the dipthong Ov." The sound
of the cuckoo's voice almost every people in Europe has tried to re-
produce in the name given to it, and the " rude forefathers " of nations
may have once prided themselves as much in their apt imitation
as the man-miniature who —

" Crows bia cuckoo-notes
Till all the greenwood alleys load are ringing."

In the Greek it is, coccyx ; old Rerman, gaug, gnggauch, guckguck ;
modern German, kukuk, kuckkuck, gukuk ; Bohemian, kokes ;
Servian, knkavitza ; Dutch, koekoek; Islandic, gaukr; Norwegian,
gouk; Swedish, goek, gjok ; Lapland, geecka ; Danish, gjoeg or
gjoge i Anglo-Saxon, gaec, geae ; Latin, cuculus ; Italian, cucullo,
cucco, cuco, cucho, cnceu ; French, coeou, coucou, coqu ; Spanish,
cuco, cnclillo ; Welsh, cog, gwccw ; Gaelic, cubhag, cuthag, cnag,
cuach ; Hindoo, kuka j Persian, koku. Old English forms are
gowke, cuccu, cuccow, cuckoe, cuckowe, cokowe, guckoo, kocok,

• Burgon'a Memoir of F. P. Tytler, p. 07.

POruLAU HISTOUY OF THE CUCKOO. it

kokoke, kuckuc. Scottish forma are goilk, golk, goik, gowk, gouckuo,
gowkoo, gukkow, gonkoo, encu, cucko, cnkkow, cockow.*

" This Bound ia like the cuckoo, the Welsh ambassador." (Middle-
ton's Trick to Catch the Old One, Act iv. 8C. 5.) It is conjectured to
be 80 called because its notes resemble words in the Welsh language.
See Gmtleman's Magazine, 1840,t

The aliases of the cuckoo figure in the following Scotch " guess "—

" The cackoo and the gowk.
The laverock and the lurk,
The mire-snipe and the heather bleat,
How many birds is that ?" Answer ; Three.

The Gennans nick-name him " beckenknecht," or baker's man, and
explain to us how he obtained this byword, as well as his singular
cry. " The bird is said to be a bewitched baker or miller boy, and
thus has pale or meal-colourod feathers. In a dear season lie robbed
poor folks of their dough, and when (lod blessed the dough in the
oven drew it out, plucked some off, and eyery time cried out as he did
BO, guknk! (look, look!) He was therefore punished and turned into
a thievish bird who contintially repeats this cry. This legend ia of
great antiqnity." (Grimm). J The Norwegians have also a story
about its call, which reminds us of one we have about the wood-pigeoa
or cnehat. " Once on a time the cock, the cuckoo, and the black-
cock bought a cow between them. But when they came to share it
and could not agree which would buy the other out, they settled that
ho who woke first in the morning should have the cow. So the coek
woke first, ' Now the cow's mine ! now the cow's mine I hurrah I
hurrah !' and he crew, and as he crew up woke the cuckoo. ' Half-
cow ! half-cow !' sang the cuckoo, and woke up the black-cock. ' A
like share, a like share, dear friends, that's only fair 1 saw see ! see

• Drawn np partly from Grimm. Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown writes mo that
in Orkney and Shetland " gowk " and " horse-gowk " are invariably applied to
the nnipo, whose spring calT-noto is vary like " gjoge, gjiige," qnickly repeated,

t A different explanation ia suggostcil in Rev. T. F. T. Dyer's Englith liilli-
Lore, p. 61.

X Another legend o£ a stingy haker being thns pouuthcd, from the game
aoorce, may be foand in Kelly's European TraditiBni and Folk-Lere, p. 68.

FOPULAU IllSTOltV OF THE CUCKOO.

saw 1' That's what the blackcock said. And now, can you tell r
which of thorn ought to have tho cow ?"" The cnckoo ofttn anticipates
tlie cock in proclaiming the dawn, and on moonlight evenings may be
heard at midnight.

The cuckoo's garland consists of seyeral ingredients. The true
cuckoo flower is Cardamine pratensis, tho pinks or wild rocket of the
Borders. " These flower for the most part in April," says Gerard
{Herhall, p. 261), "when the cuckowe doth begin to sing her pleasant
notes without stammering." Stillingfleet notes that in 1755 the j
cnckoo called on the 17th and the cuckoo flower was in blow on the ]
19th of April. The name Flos Cwuli is traced to Otto Bmnfela, I
1536, adapted from the Gauch-blume and Kukucks-blume of the ]
Germans. It appears in English, in Lyte's translation of Dodonteug, |
1578, as " coccow flower." The Flemish name is cocockbloem ot ]
coeckoecbloem. It is goje hlomster in Danish, according to 8. ,
Paulli ; blodeuyn y gog in Welsh, but this is modem. Lychnis ftoB- '
cuculi is another " cnckoo flower" derived from a German source, the ]
Cuculi Jloe Genttams of Tragus, 1552. J. Eanhin, S{st. Plant, i
p. 34S, says the Germans call it ganch-blum, kitckuck-blumen, and I
the French, flear dn coqnu. The Flemish is coeckcock-bloemkens ]
and Lyte translates it cockow gillofers. In t]ie county of Durham I
found " gilloflowers " was a common name for Cardamine pratensis.
In Welsh it is hlodau'r gog, Shakspeare's cuckoo-flower in the
mock coronet of the mad Lear appears to have been a cereal weed.

" Crown'd with rank fumiters ant! farrow weeds,
With harlot ks, hemlocks, nettleB, cncfcoo -flowers.
Camel, and all the idle weeds that grow in com."

Tho '' cuckoo-flower" of Clare, Miss Baker thinks (^Nortkamptonskire
[Vords and Phrases, i. p. 1S4) is the red-flowered campion, Lychnis
diwma.

" And oft, whilst scratching through briary woods
For tempting cuckoo-flowers and riolet buds."

• Dasent'ij Tiilet froiii the. Norn; p. 211.

flower, —

POPULAR HISTOUY OF THE CUCKOO.

i tliG cuckoo-pint, Ai-v

! cnckoo-piiit

" Where pocp the gaping speckled cnckoo- flowers,
Piizes to rambling Echootbojg' racant boars."

Poemt, p

" Theac harcbella all
Soeio bowing with the beaotifol in soog ;
And gaping cnckoo-Sower with spotted learea,
Seems blushing of the singing it has heard."
Rural Slum, p. 33.

In Devonebire, according to Mr. Halliwell {Archaic Dictionary),
the harebell {Agraphia nutans) is called cuckoo ; in DumbartonBhire
it is gowk's hose (Jamieaon). Cuckoo's stockings, as a provincial
name for the harebell, ia mentioned in Howitt's Book of the
Seasons. The Welsh names are Esgidiau'r gog, cuckoo's shoes ; and
Hosanan'r gog, cuckoo's stockings (Thomas .Tones); Bwtias y gog,
cuckoo's boots. (DaTias' Welsh Botanohgy.) Canterbury bells has the
name of gowk's hose in the South of Scotlanil. In Lovell's Herhall,
Oxford, 1665, p. 72, Canterbury bells is synonymous with "cuckoo-
flowers or throutwort;" but uufortunfltely, at page 113, it is arranged
as a double ladj's-smock. The common bell-flower ( Campanula
rotvndifoiia), in the Gaelic list of Lightfoot's Flora Scoiica, is
written curachd-na-cnaig. This is also written curachd-na-cubhaig,
and signifies the cuckoo's cap (female head-drees), and it is still known
as such in the Isle of Skye, as I ascertained by inquiry. In Gaelic,
Finffuuitila vulgaris, or bntterwort, is brogan-na-cuiag, cuckoo's shoes.
The Orchis masoila is also a cuckoo flower. lamor's Herball, 1551,
distinguishes it as goukis meat ; it is referred to in Lyte's Dailoerts,
1578, p. 226, as cuckowes orchis, and it is no entitled in the index
to Gerard's Herball by Johnson, 1633. The name in Wales is
Hosanan'r g&g, the cuckoo's stockings or hose (Davies's Botanology"),
In the Nomenclulor Flantarum of Benedict BerzeKus, in the Amanitatei
Amdemiis, TJpsal, 1759, the German guckuks-blume stands opposite to
this orchis. The original cuckoo's hose may hare been the cowslip;
hut correct application cannot be expected in every instance of popular

80 POPULAR HiarOJlY OF THE CUCKOO.

names. In Lyte's Dodotna, p, 123, the French names of tha cow-
slip are coquu and brajes de coquu, i.e. cuckoo's hose in the modern
acceptation. This appears to be from RQelliue, 1537, in whose work
the country name is cuculi brachula. By others it is written bracha
cuculi (J. Bfluhin, Hist. Plant, iit. p. 495, 1651). In the Flemish
dictionary, Eilianus Auetus, 1642, both brachie cuculi and braiea de
cocu are interpretations for the cowslip. Miege's French Diclionarr/,
1675, Englishes coucou, as primrose. Giokblomma is the name of
cowslip in Gothland. Mr, Don (HisL of Plants, i. p. 40), following
Philip Miller, conjectured tliat the " cuckoo buda " of Shakespeare is |
the Banunculua bvlbosue, crowfoot or buttercup, which hlows in May
and June. Mr. Sidney Beisly (SkakBpere^s Garden, p, 42) advocates
the pilewort (^Ranuncviua ficaria) as a claimant for the honour. The
name may Ktill exist in country places. The Caltha paitutri», Iha
showy marsh marigold, Linnseus says, conforms in tune of flower-
ing with the arrival of the cuckoo in Sweden, and it is still a
marked feature in that country. (Marryat'a One Tear in Sweden, i. ■
p. 74.) Stillingfleet found the marah marigold to hlow April 7tli, andl
the same day the cuckoo sang. (^Select Works, ii. p. 373.) The Greek. 1
work coccyx signifies cuckoo, and likwise a young Gg, and the reasoa
given for it is that in Greece they appeared together. Oxalia acetosella,
the wood-sorrcl, bears the vagrant hird's impress in many languages.
" It is called of some pania cuculi, cnckowe-breade, eyther because the
cuckowea delight to feede thereon, or that it beginneth to bloasome when
the cuckowe beginneth to utter her voyce." (Parkinson's Theatrum
Botanicum, p. 747.) Dr. Prior found thia in the Ortua Sanitatis,
c. xviii. (148G.) RueUius, 1537, also gives itthat name. In French
it is pain du cocu, pain de coucou ; in Italian, pan ciicnli ; in old
German, gouches-ampfera ; in modem German, kukucksbrot ; other
German names aro gauchklce, guckgauchklee, kugugsklee (cuckoo-
clover), gauchbrot, guckgauchbrot, guchoiilauch, and ganchlin; in
Danish, giogebrodt, giogcmad, giogesyre ; in Swedish, giokmat, which
name in that laiiguage Lathi/ma macrorrhixus (Orobus tuborosus, L.)
shares with it. It is the Anglo-Saxon Gaecea-enre and the Welsh
Suran-j-gog ; the cuckowea meat of Turner's Ifamea of Serbs, 1548.

POPDLAH HISTOBY OF THE CUCKOO.

It is the English cuckoo-Borrel, cnckoo-hread, cuckoo-spice ; the
Scottish gowk's meat ; the border cuckoo's meat, cuckoo cloTcr,
cuckoo's sourocks ; and the cuckoo-sorrel of the North of Ireland.
Tragopogon pratense, goat's heard, has for one of its German names
Gauchsbrot. " Children," sajs Tragos, " who eat the root while it is
jet tender are wont to call it gauchbrot, i.e. the bread of the cnckoo,
from the sweetness thereof; and, if an Apiciau only knew how good it
was, he would never again prefer his acetarian dainties to all other
herbs and roots," — (J. Eauhin, Hist. ii. p. 1059.) The cuckoo claims
also the sweet-scented TioJet and the pansy, both being in Gaelic sail-
chuach, the cuckoo's heel. In Irish, the first is sail-covagh, accord-
ing to Threlkeld's Irish Herbal. A pretty fancy; but the cuckoo has
no heel like the lark, the fee being zygodactile, or with two toea behind
and two before for grasping. Anagallia arvensis, the scarlet pimper-
nel, is in German gauchheyl, gochheyl, and jochheyl ; and in Flemish
guychelhejl ; gowk or fool's heel, from gauch and gnjch, a fool j a
Bccondary derivative. The kind of moss called great golden maiden-
hair, Polytrichum commune, is the gowk hear, i.e. cuckoo's barley, of
Ayrshire. In Sweden, says the Flora Suecica of Linnjeus, it is known
as gukulijn, and giokrag. In the same country the rare and beautiful
Cypripediwn calceolns, our Lady's slipper, is guckuskor, Geckdoj;, in
Gerard's Herhall, Qaliuni sparine, may rank here. Cocowort, Halliwell
renders shepherd's purse ; hat this may be doubted. We have also
gowk's siller, shillings or sixpences, Jthinantkus Cristagalli ; and on
the Borders cuckoo grass, Luzula campeatris, " flowering with the
primrose and the dog-violet, and pulled by children to give variety to
the sprint; nosegay." In Boehnieri, Commentationes (Economico-Medico-
Botanica : Vitebergie et Servestse, 1792, 4to. Anagallis arvensis is
called gauchblurae, and rother gauchheil (p. 34) ; and Avena fatua
(wild oats) is reckoned to be the gauchhaber (p. 68). Mr. James
Britten states that " Cuckoos " is in Buckinghamshire and Essex
applied to any spring-flowering plant which has no other name."
{Notes and Queries 4th ser. iv. p. 467).

The cuckoo-spittle, gowk 'a- spittle, cuckoo's-spittens, frog-spit, toad-
spit, Huake's-spit, or wood-sear of England and Scotland ; Kakuk-

VOL. II. Q

POPULAR HI8TORY OK THE CUCKOO.

epHiche!, and hesonspiechel (ivitcli'a-spit) of the Germans ;• gagger-
Bpeu of the Swiss ; grod-spott (frog-spit) of the Swedes ; giogespit of
tlio Danes : trold-kiaringspye of the Norwegians ; and eraohat de
concou of the French ; is a froth discharged by the young fioghoppers
{Pi/lelus spumarivs), which belong to the order Hemiptera-Homoptera
among insects, to defend them from enemies and the overpowering
effect of the solar heat. " M. Ponpart tella that as soon as the little
creature comes out of its egg it hastens to some plant, which it touches
with the tip of its body, and fastens there a drop of white liquor full
of air ; it drops a second near the first, then a third, and so on, till it
coTcrs itself all over with a scum or fruth," These get the name of
gowk-Bpittles, because they are at the greatest plenty " when the bird
gets hoarse, or seems by its voice to have a spittle in its throat" (Mac-
taggart). The dates of first appearance are, in Berwickshire, May
6, 11, 23, 24, June 8, English dates are June 16, June 2-21. One
writer considers it a kind of liavdeiied dew, another a blight. Sibbald,
in his Scotia Illuetrata, regarded it as an exhalation infecting plants,
ivbich speedily eormpts and engendcra vermiculi, and unless it is
wiped off it bums up the plants. The inclosed insect lives on the
juice of plants, and is often projndicial to garden blooms. In Sweden
it is said to cause madness in cattle that feed where it abounds. The
Cardamiiie pratensie and Lijcbnii fios-cuadi are favourite depositories
of its spnme, and some conjecture that hence arises the. name of
cnckoo-flowers by which they are distinguisiied (Dr. Johnston's Flora
of the Eaetem Borders, p. 33 ; Miss Baker's Northamptonshire Words
and Phrases, i. p. 1 65} ; bnt it has already been shown that the origin
of the name is not in our language, and has existed on the Continent
for three hundred years, whatever more. And there are plants that
it is noticed to affect as much as it does these. " The experience is,
that the froth which they call woodesare (being a kind of spittle) is
found bnt upon certain herbs, and those hot ones, as lavender, lavender-
cotton, sage, hyssope," &c. (Lord Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum, p. 104, and

* Mr. Broderick, erroneously, I tbink, identifies the witrlieB' butter in the
traijic talc of tlio M~dch:i of Blocltiila, with tho cuckoo-spit (Zaotoff. Meeroa-
tlimx, p. 72). Dr. Prior makes it Trciaella NiiKtnn, one of Wio Alga.

POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CUCKOO.

Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors, p. 237.) But there is a kind of
plant that has been gifted with a name, " in respect of that kind of
frothy-spattle or spume, which we call cuokoo-spittle, that more
aboandeth in the bosomes of the leaves than in any other plant that
is knowne," via. Silene iii/afa, bladder campion, which Gerard denomi-
nated Bpattling poppy. This is the English of Papaver fpumeitm,
which again ia translated from the Greek Mecon aphrodes of Dios-
corides, a plant that no one now can recognise, but which Gesner
thought might he this plant. Gerard's name has not come into com-
mon use. Plants besmeared with the froth of this insect were fonnerly
considered emblematical of cuckoldom. " There was loyal lavender,"
says Green, "but that was full of cuckow-spittea, to show that
women's light thoughts make their husbands heavy heads." The
Northambrian name of the insect is a brock, and hence, some one told
Brockett, the expression " to sweat like a brock ;" but this, as is well
known, is on the Borders applied to a badger. Boys take them for
the early state of the cuckoo ; and Isodore, with all a boy's credulity,
tells how at the dog-days they inflict matricidal retribntion, for then
attaining perfection they rush upon her in a body and kill her with their
bites. (Joh. Johnstoni Tkavmatographia, p. 250.) Isodore, how-
ever, regarded the insects in these spittles as the offspring of the
mnsical cicada of the South of Europe. (Orig. lib. xii. cap. viii.)
Our countryman, Muffett, in his Imecforvm Tkeatrum, 1634, pp. 122,
132, seems to be the first who had a correct conception of the natarc
of the " yonng gowk." The passage has been rendered by Sir T.
Browne. {Vulg. Err. p. 237.) " Certaine it is that out of this some
kind of locust doth proceed ; for herein may be discovered a little
insect of a fcstucino or pale green, resemhling in all parts a locust, or
what we call a grasshopper." Near Newcastle the small springing
homoptera are called ffrass locusts. " Not worth a gowk spittle " is a
Galloway phrase. (Mactaggart.) " Gesner asketh how any man dare
be so foolish or venturous as to eat of a cuckoe, whose much spitting
argneth a corrupt and escremental flesh." (Muffett's Ileallh'a Im-
provemenl, p. 99.)

Cuckoo holidays are few in number, and now seldom heard of

POPULAR HlSTOaY OF THE CUCKOO.

I
I

The Monting Poet newspaper of May 17th, 1821, saja : " A eingular
cHBtom prevails in Shropshire at this period of the year, which is
peculiar to that coiiuty. As soon as the first ctickoo has been heard
all the labouring classes leave work, if in the middle of the day, and
the time is devoted to mirth and jollity over what is called Cuckoo
Ale."* " Towcdnack Cuckoo Feast" takes place on the nearest
Sunday to the 28th of April. "It happened in very early times,
when winters extended further into the spring than they now do,
that one of the old inhabitants resolved to be jovial, notwithstanding
the inclemency of the season; bo he invited all his neighbours, and
to warm his house he placed on the burning faggots the stump of a
tree. It began to blaze, and, inspired by the warmth and light, they
began to sing and drink ; when, lo I with a whiz and a whir, out Hew
a bird from the hollow in the stump, crying, Cuckoo 1 cuckoo I
The bird was caught and kept by the farmer, and he and his
friends resolved to renew the festal meeting every year at this
date, and to call it their " Cuckoo Feast." Previous to this event
Towednack had no " feasten Sunday," which made this parish a
singular exception to the rule in Cornwall. f

Many northern people at the name of gowk will, with all the fresh-
ness of events that indelibly impress the memory, recall the frolics of
the first and second of April, when in holiday attire defects wore
inquired into of which the wearer had not a twinkling of suspicion ;
when the swain's cart dropped its back-board, but not through hasty
driving ; when ont-field labourers were hurried homo to carry stacks
of corn that midsummer saw unremoved ; when errands of urgency
were speeded to absent parties, who repaid the bearer with astounding
laughter; and when oil of hazel, essence of sloethom, pigeon's milk,
Btirmp ointment, and other nonsensical pleasantries were ia suc-
cessive requisition to insure the fond gowk's being dispatched i
fruitless search another weai^ mile. This —
" Make-believe on April day,
That sent the simple heart a- fooling,"

• Brand's Ppji. AntUi. ii. p. 124, Charlea Knight's ed.

■f Hunt's Popular JiBmanfcs of the Weat a/ England, p. 104.

POPUI.AR HISTOSY OF THE CUCKOO. 85

is called a " gowk'a errand," " an April errand," " hunt the gowk,"
Sometimes the April fool was the bearer of a missive contftiiiing this
distich, —

" The ficat and second day of April,
Hoand (or hnnt or send) the gowk another mile."

The reply by parties too old or too experienced to be thns played

At Wooler, in Northumberland, those who thus resisted beiug made
" fenl gowks," on " fenl-gowk day," April 1, replied : —

" The gowk and the titlene flit on a. tree,
Ye're a gowk aa weel as me."

Such an epoch as the calling-time of this favourite bird coiild not
fail to have its " trivial fond records " and concomitant superstitious
obBerrances.

At Wooler, you are told, if you are waiting on a hard road, when
the CQckoo first calls, the ensuing season will be full of calamity ; but
if you should stand on soft ground it is a iucfcy omen.

In Scotland it is lucky to be walking when the cuckoo is first

" Gang sn' hear the gonk yelt,
Sit and see the swallow flee ;
See the foal before its mother'a ee,
'Twill be a firiving year wi' thee." ■

As a prophet, the cuckoo's oracles were believed by the Poles to be
given by the great god Zywie, the hfe-giver, who transformed himself
into the bird to utter them. (Grimm.) In the Tyrol the cuckoo is a
prophet of disaster. When the traveller hears it he crosses himself,
for it bears the reputation of being the devil's own bird, and the " evil
one himself, the worst of the phantoms, rejoices in adopting his
voice."* In like manner "the cuckoo that placed itself npon the

' Tales ami Legendi of tlie TV^'i i*? Comtesse A. von Giinther,p. 118.

8(! POPULAR IIISTORT Or THE CL'CKOO

Spear of Lnitprand, King of the Longobariis, was considered by tliem
as & flinister omen, as if the cuckoo were n fnnereal bird."*

The inhabitants of the little island of Rona, in the wefltera isles of
Scotland, sa; that the cuckoo is never seen or heard there but after
the death of the Earl of Seaforth. In St. Kilda, the most remote of
these isles, the cuckoo is very rarely seen, and that upon estraordi-
naty occasions, sneh as the death of the proprietor, M'Leod, the
steward's death, or the arrival of some notable stranger. " I was not
able,'' says Mr, Martin, " to forbear laughing at this relation, as
founded upon no reason but fancy, which I no sooner expressed than
the inhabitants wondered at my incredulity, saying that all their
ancestors for a series of several ages had remarked this observation to
prove true ; and, for further confirmation, appealed to the present
steward whether he had not known this observation to have been
true, both in his own and in his father's time, who was also steward
before him ; and, after a, particular inquiry upon the whole, he told
me that both in his own and in his father's lifetime the truth of this
observation had been constantly ■believed, and that several of the
inhabitants now living have observed the cuckoo to have appeared
after the death of the two last proprietors and the two last stewards,
and also before the arrival of strangers several times. It was taken
notice of this year before onr arrival, which they also ascribe to my
coming here, as the only stranger, the minister having been there
before." The cuckoo is not uncommon in the outer islands, and the
sweetness of ita voice caught Wordsworth's attention in tlie remote
Highlands —

" Breaking the Bilunce of the seas.
Among the farthest Hebridoa."

Werenfels (^Dissertation upon Superstitions) says, " If the super-
stitions man has a desire to know how many years be has to live, he
will inquire of the cuckoo." In the language of Wolfgang Franz,
" With the superstitious ancients it was accounted Juno's bird, hence
until this day our people (t'.e. the Germans) by nnmbcring its notes

• Gnbematis, Zeal. Mythnl. ii. p. 2

POPULAR IIISTORI OF THE CUCKOO. 87

attempt to asoertain when they will marry, nay even the length of
their liffi." (Hist. Animalium, i. p. 23G.) It was a cuatom among
children in Yorkshire to sing round a cherry-tree : —

" Cuckoo, cherry tree,
CoiDB down and tell me,
How many jeara afore I dee."

Or in Northamptonshire :—

" Cnckoa, charry tree,
Mow many years am I to liye.
One, two, three.''

Each child then shook the tree, and the nuinher of cherries which
fell hetokened the som of the years of its fnture life." Mr. Broderip,
referring to the relish with which a. cackoo regaled itself with cherries,
notices an old rhyme employed by nurses to teach a child its first
words —

To which some odd ;

" Cackoo, cherry tree.
Lay an egg, bring it nie."t

" Lay another, give it brother.''

This fita on veiy well to what Grimm says, " When the cackoo has
eaten his full of cherries three times he ceases to sing."

Again, in the West of Scotland, " the cuckoo, the first time you
hear it in spring, it is believed, cries once for every year yon have yet
to live, hence great eare is taken by some to count the exact number
of notes she sings on this interesting occasion. "J This may be amjily
illnstrated from continental sources, for these snperstitions, no less
than correspondences of speech, attest the brotherhood of nations,
rimm says, " The popular behef still exists that whoever hears the
y of the cuckoo for the first time in the spring, may ask him how
many more years ho has to live. In Switzerland the children cry,

■ W. J. Thoms, Athttumtm., 1846, p,
■f Zoological Becrea.tien», p. 81,
X aiatgpw Herald, October, 18E9.

C. W. Peach in letter, &c.

88 POrOLAR HISTORY OP THE CDCKOO,

' fiugger, wie lang lebi no ?' (Ouckoo, how long Bha!l I live yet)^
and much the same in Lower Saxony. In other places the rhyme if

' Cuckoo, baker boj,
TeU me true,
How many jeara ahall I liye ?'

They then listen and count how often the bird repeats his cry after
this question, and the number betokens the years of their future life."
" Muuh depends upon the direction in which the cuckoo is first heard ;
if from the north (that is, the nnlutky eide) you will have mourning
during the year ; from the east or west, his cry portends good fortune ;
from the south, tiien he is a proclaimer of butter." " And we have a
story related by Abbot Theobald, of Eberbacii, of a certaia novice,
who, asEunng himself of living twentj-two years longer, from having
heard the cuckoo repeat its C17 just bo many times, concluded that it
was needless for him to pass so long a period in mortification, and re-
solved to return and lead a jolly life for twenty years, thinldng the
remaiuing two quite enough for penitence."" Of corresponding import
is the tale of the old wife who had such singular trust in the cuckoo's
notes, that on her deathbed she would not admit that she was sinking,
but protested over and over again that the cuckoo had predicted she
would live five years longer, and repeated it by the erection of her
fingers, when in her last struggle she had become speechless.-)-

In Cornwall,^ " If, on first hearing the cnckoo, the sounds pro-
ceed from the right, it signifies that you will be prosperous ; or, to use
the language of the informant, a country lad, ' you will go right vore

• Annala of JVo(. Bift. xiii. compared with Atketufwi, IBiB. The story
maj be fonnd in Cyprian's Annotatiojit an Wolfgang Framing, Hiit. Anivial.
p. 12S(7. In Chacnberb' Soeli of Days, i. p. 630, ttve antborahip is atttJlinted to
CoiBariaa of Hoisterboch, tbe date Iieing 1221. Also Kelly, Hur. P. L. p. 9g.

t (Jeter dc Supei'ititiene, c. 3, n. 37 ; in Cyprian's Annetatient on i'ranxviit,
p. 811 A pacallel instance is given in Chatnbera' Boek of Days, L p. 630,
from Wright's Selection of Lai in Storiel.

X C/ioice IfBtef, p. 90. On the other hand. Mr. Pengelly say : " Comiahraen
not only take it as a good omen to hear the cuckoo from the right, bnt also
from before them ; to hear bim, in short, on the starbBard ioti; as a sailor woold
say." — Z/iMj Ago, p. 310.

POPDLAB HIBTORY OF THE CUCKOO. 89

in the world ; ' if from the left, ill-lnck is before you." At the first call
of the bird a German peasant does the same thing as when he hears
thunder for the first time for that year ; he rolls himself several times
on the grass, and is thereby insured against pains of the back for that
season, and all the more effectually if the bird continues to call while
he is on the ground."

The first time you hear the voice of the cuckoo, sit down on a bank,
and, pulling the stocking off the right leg, repeat these verses —

" May this to me
Now lucky be,"

and then put it on aga n f

In the West of Scotland on h a ng the cuckoo for the first time,
poll off youi' shoes and st ck gs a d f you find a hair ou the sole
of the left foot, it w 1! th exact colour of the hair of your future
spouse. If DO ha r s found then anotl er year of single life must
be endured." J " I got up the last May morning," says the Connoisseur,
No. 5G, " and went into the fields to hear the cuckoo, and when I
pulled off my UJl shoe I found a hair in it exactly the same colour

" When Srst tlie year, I heard the cuckoo sing,
And call with welcome note the huddtng spring,
I straightway set a-runniog with sneh haste,
Deb'rah that won the smock scarce ran so fast,
Till spent for lack of breath, quite weary grown.
Upon a rising bank I sat adowc,
And doff 'd my shoe, and by my troth I swear.
Therein I spied this yellow friizlud hair.
As like to Lnbberkin's in curl and hue,
As if upon bis comely pnto it grew."

Gat.

But the right foot has the most and oldest authorities in its favour.
" When the cuckoo uttered hia first note," writes Uarleton, in his
Traits, {(c. of the Irish Peasantry, iv. p. 268, " from among the haw-

• Kelly, Europ. F. L. p. S8, from Mannhardt, p. 200.
t Oitekeo Orint, p. 8. By M. A. Denham.
X eiaigm Herald, Oetober, 1869.

Itfl POPULAR 1I18T011Y OP THE CUCKOO.

tilorns, with what treiuhling anxiety did I, an urchin of Bome

eight or nine jcbtb, look under my right foot for the white hair whoBO
charm was such that by )<eoping it about me the tirst female name I
eliimld hoar was destined, I believed in my bouI, to bo that of my
future wife."

" Plinie reporteth that if when yon firat hear the cuckoo jou mark
well where yonr right foot Btandeth, and take up of that eartli, the
fleae will by no meauB breed, either in your house or chamber, where
any of the same earth ia thrown or scattered." (Thomas Hill, and Bee
Brand.)

In some of the counties in the north-weat of England, although
this belief is also ascribed to Norfolk, people believe that whatever
they chance to bo doing when they firat hear the cuckoo they will do
all the year,* In BorwickEhire it is the common belief, that, if the
circumstances in which its note is first heard for the season he
attended to, they afford unerring signB whereby the secrets of a man's
destiny for the ensuing year may be disclosed. In whatever direction
he may bo looJting when its tones arrest him, there will he be on
the anniversary of that day next year. If ho be gazing on the
ground he is warned of an untimely fate. (This I have also from
Mid-Lothian and Cornwall.) If he has money in his pocket it is
au omen tliat lie shall not lack ; if penniless, that the cruae of oil
shall not be replenished, and that losses and disappointments shall
be his lot. Thus also is it in Westmoreland.

" When the cry of the cuckoo is heard for the first time in the
seaaon, it is customary in Northamptonshire to turn the money in the
pocket and wish. If within the bonuds of reason it is sure to be fiil-
filled."t It is the same in Somersetshire. In Hull, " If when yoa
hear this bird you turn a penny over in your pocket, you will never he
witliout one all the year." It is called a " cuckoo penny."f In Ger-
many, it is said, " if jou have money in your purse when ho first cries

* Howitt'a Rural Life ef England, p. S90.

t StemltBrg'a J»aleet and Folk-Loro of NorthamiitDnsli ir

X Choice Notet, p. 1S4.

POPULAR HISTORY OP THE CUCKOO. 91

all will go well during the year ; and, if you were fasting, you will be
hungry the whole year." *

But, amongst all this diversity of interpretation, such is the benevolent
constitution of the human mind, such its hope for better things, that
it rarely fails to discover, even in the most despondent circumstances,
the presages of a bright futurity. No wonder, then, that the cuckoo's
call, as the herald of good news, finds an echo in every bosom, and
that, with eager anticipations, young and old are prepared to welcome
its renewal.

JAMES HARDY.

* For some slight yariations in the formula of these beliefs, see Long Ago,
pp. 204-5 ; also Harland and Wilkinson's Lanca»hire Iblh-Lore, p. 143.

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE.

"IloTe a, ballad bnt even too welt; if it be doleful matter, merril; set down, of
K Te>T plemant thing indeed, snd snng lamentably."

Winter't Tale, act ir. sc. iii.

I BALLAD may be called a narrative poem fit to be sung.
In olden times the singers of theae poems, the barda,
most of whom were also poets, went from place to place,

' attending courts, festivals, and public gatherings of the
people, and there aang or recited those poetic narratives descriptive of
battles and adventures of heroes, of tournaments, and of love intrigues."
These bards were listened to with great attention, were held in high
esteem, and in many cases wore credited with prophetic gifts; and
whether their narratives kept the level of common every-day life, or
soared into the realms of fancy, still they were consistent with the
habits and beliefs of the age in which they were delivered; and thus
the old folk-songs, as they are aptly termed, remain to us now a vast
storehouse of historical evidence of the manners and customs, of the
thonghts and beliefs, of bygone times. In very ancient poetic nar-
ratives, such as Homer's, we find descriptions of hosts of super-
natural beings, divinities or demigods, who superintended human affairs,
public and private, and had among the human race those whom they
favoured and those whom they thwarted, and so they plotted and
intrigued for the advancement of their favourites and the overthrow
of their enemies. Essentially the same in principle, though diflering in
detail and nomenclature, this form of belief was at one time common to
all nations, and in northern Europe it held sway as the prevalent belief
till within these few centuries; indeed, till this present.

After the introduction of Christianity the notion that these super-
natural agents were really divinities gradually declined, but the belief in
aapernatural agencies remained. Instead, however, of regarding these
beings as gods, they were now considered to he evil spirits or fallen angels

• It is worth while referring here to Bishop Percy's Essay on tite Aneient
Minrirds in England, and to Mr, Wheatley'a Introduction to Percy'* Scliqnei,

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE.

in the service of tlie Devil, who were permitted bj God to exercise power
over men who hod ainned." They had the power and were permitted to
appear to men in various shapes aad disguises, and to speak through ani-
mate and inanimate things. Frequently they appeared in the guise of
men and women, and in this form held licentious intercourse with the
human race, wherefrom were begotten monsters — moral monsters and also
physical, such as giants, dwarfs, and dragons. Very commonly we find old
heathen notions commingling with the incidents of Scripture history, for
in these old times Pagan and Christian elements presented no serious
difBoultiea to their fasion; but, while the process of fusion went on, the
differing elements interacted upon each other, and so new forms of
mythological beliefs arose.

It is difficult, if not altogether impossible, now to indicate the precise
forces which were instrumental in producing these modifications, but
we see the results. In course of time the Devil's supernatural offspring
wore relegated to a subterranean realm, and their characters also under-
went a change: the giants, dwarfs, and dragons of the older mythology
had given place to a newer race, called elves, fairies, brownies, &c.
These new races, like their progenitors, had human passions and dis-
positions, and were nuder the government of kings and queens, with a
regular constitution of laws; they interested themselves in the affairs of
men, and, like Homer's gods, they had their human favourites whom
they aided, and their enemies whoso designs they thwarted; they had
wives and reared families, and cultiFflted the arts and sciences. The
Pagan gods and demons had now given place to one supreme fiend — the

• Thna, in the ■' Master of Oxford's CaWchisni," written early in the fifteenth
centnry, and printed in Heliqvie Anlitjua, i. 231, we have the following qneation,

" C, Where be the anjcllea that God pnt out of heven and bjcam deyilles 7

" Jf. Som into hell, and som reyned in the skye, and sora in the erth, and aom
in waters and in wodya."

Professor Skeot quotes the above in illustration of the hnea from Picn the
Ploivman.

" Whan thiite wikked went oat, wonderwisB >ei fellsn,
Sorame in eyre, aomme in ertha, and aomme in hello depe."

This was, ho saja, an easy way for ncconntiag for all classes of fairies, some of
whom were sapposed to be not malignant; for the fallen Hpirits were sappoBcd to
bo not all eiinaJly wicked. The Roaicrasians, in like manner, placed the sylphs in
the air, the gnomes in the earth, the salamanders in the fire, the nymphs in the
water. — See Skeat's Piert the PloKman, notes, p. IDE.

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE,

Christian devil, who entered personally into covenant engagements with' I
nienibers of the human family, they yielding him their services dorinj"
life, and possession of their soids at death; and in retnrn he gratified
all tlieir earthly desires, and gifted them with supernatural powers, so
that when they pleased they could change their shape as they thought
fit, ami thus, unrecognised, vent their malice on those whom they dia-
liknd. These were known as witches, wizards, and warlocks.

Those few preliminary remarks will enable us in some measure to
comprehend tha extraordinary matters contained in old Ballads, now
popularly regarded as the product of the perverted fancy of early
imaginative writers, hut which in reality were only the common and real
beliefs of the people, no doubt somewhat but not greatly heightened by
the fancy of the hard. There is a rich mine of folk-lore of great
historical value in these old Ballads, and, in order to direct attention to
the wealth which here lies ready to the hand of those who have patience
and health and learning sufficient for the task, I have culled a few
specimens of these extraordinary beliefs. Most of my quotations, except
when otherwise stated, are from Illustrations of Northern Antiquities,
printed in Edinburgh in 1814. In a ballad, entitled "The little
Garden of Roses, and of Laurin, King of the Dwarfs," a hero named
DiBTLiEB had a sister possessed of great beauty, named Similt.
This beauty was sought after by knights of the highest fame, and
she was also coveted by the Dwarf King.

" One mom, witb all her Tilling, she issued to the plain ;
Dietlieb, with three noble carls, followed in ber train :
With many knigbts and sqnirea she rode to an anuient linden tree;
There in mirth and feoating lay the gallant company.
Bat aaddenly from their wondering gme vanished Similt the bright,
With arts of canning grammarj, the robber wrongbt the alaigbt.
A Tarn-cap o'er tbo fair he cast, and his prixe be qniekly bore,
Many a day and many a night, thraogh forcat dark and hoar.
He bore her to his cavem, where he ruled in royalty."
Dietlieb, with his knights, searched for Similt without snccesa; then,
tearing the magic power of Laurin, they returned home, hut Dietlieb
was inconsolable for the loss of his sister. He consulted with an old
hero, Hildcbrand, who consoled him with the promise of help and with
the hope of recovering his sister, and directed him how to proceed. He
got other young heroes, fond of adventure, to join him in the search.
In order to cause the Dwarf King to disclose himself, they tried an old

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOEB,

device : they entered Lanrin's rose garden, and trampled it down. Aa
they had calculated, thia brougkt Lanrin visibly to them. Ha diBguised
his anger for a time.

" la gQise qnite bold and chltalrons, in stirnps rich he stood;
NoC the truest btuile could cat his pnsena red aa blood.
Hardened was bis havrbork in tlie gore of dragons fierce,
And his golden braaj bright not the boldest knight might pierce.
Aronnd his waist a girdle ho wore of magic power ;
The strength of twelve, Che strongest men, it ga,ve him in the stonr.
Ctinamg he was, and qnaiat of skill, and when his wrath arose,
The kempt must be of mickle might conld stand his weight; blows.
Little vias King Lanrin, but from many preeiooa gem
His wondrous strength and power and bis hold courage came.
Tall at times, his stature grew, with spells of grammar^;
Then to the lAblest princes fellow might he be;
Silken was his mantle, with atones of mound inlaid.
Sewed in two-and-seventy squares by many a cunning maid.
Hia helmet, strong and trusty, was forged of the weighty gold.
And when the dwarf did bear it hia courage grow more bold,
la the gold, with many gems, a bright carbimcle lay,
That where he rode the darkest night grew brighter than the day.
Upon the crown, and on the helm, birds sung their merry lay;
Nightingales and larks did chatmt tboir measnres blythe and gay.
As if in greenwood flying, they tuned their minstrelsy :
With hand of master wore they wronght, aud with apelis of grammary.
On his arm he bore a gilded buckler bright :

There many sparhawks, tame aud wild.were portrayed with caaning sleight;
And a savage leopard ranging, prowling through the wood.
Right in act to soiie his prey, tbirstins for their blood."
The Dwarf King's armour snrpasaes the armonr and shield of Achilles,
made by Vulcan, and bo much praised by writers on Homer. In con-
nection with this, the idea snggosts itself to me that the fabrication of
Achilles' shield was, by Homer's description, more a. work of magic
than an actual or possible product of the practical art of his time.
The gorgeous array of the dwarf causes the heroes at first to imagine
that he waa an angel, probably St. Michael, but they soon found who he
was by his ordering them to qnit the garden, and to choose between
death and the loss of their left feet and right hand. This ultimatum
they met with many bravados, and at length the dwarf calmed down
and told Dietlieb that he had his alster in hia keeping, and agreed to
take him to see her; and then in the most friendly manner he led the
heroes info his subterranean dominiona, with the following assurnnces :

96 OLD BALLAD POLK-LOEE.

" Thera, my fallows, shall je find pastimes blythe and gay;
With Bong of birds and [ilay of harpa, a week will Beem a day.
All the mony prvstimea never mny I tell;
TlioTe, nichont all guile or fear, in pleasure sball ye dwell.
When the gates ware opened, forth a splcndonr gleamed ;
Brighter than the day it shone, aud aroDnil the forest beamed;
From many a gem the splendour came, bung in tha cavern bright ;
Wondering stood the beroaa, when they viewed the magic light.
The cfaampionH sped into the cave, where many dwarfs appeared:
There the many songs of birds, and the sound of harps they heard.
The tmmpet clear resounded iu the royal hall aloud
To the deas had sped the host, when be viewed the champions proud."

After viewing the subterranean cave, the dwarf led his gueats through
the forest to his own palace, which aurpaased in magic beauty anything
they had yet seen. And tlie young knighta were full of joy and glad-
ness ; but one with more experience was suspicious of the dwarf, and—
" Wittich spake a warning word — Hark to my reed aright 1
The dwarf is cinaint, and full of guile, then beware his canning sleighCi
Arts he knows right marvellous. If to his hollow hill
We follow, much I dread me, he will breed ns dangerous ill."

Titey entered into his palace grounds through many gates, which wf
all fastened behind them. When they entered the palace, an old necro-
mancer aakeJ the dwarf what he wished him to do. The following is
the reply :

" Cast upon them, Master mine, for the love of me,
A magic apcll, that none of them may the other see.
Upon the knights his magic charm cast the sorc'rer felt;
None could behold his brothers, so mighty was the spell."

The knighta were, however, able to see the other inLabitants of the
palace and the servants, some of whom were dwarfs about two feet in
height, and some giants of great atatm-e, who danced and sang and tour-
neyed for the amusement of the guests. After this a feast was held, at
which the young Lady Similt was introduced with great pomp. She after-
wards gained audience of her brother and gave him a magic ring, which
broke the spell laid upon the knights, and gave victory to any one who
wore it. Regaining their annour, the knights fought their way out, car-
rying with them Similt and the Dwarf King. The former got married,
and the Dwarf King became the fool or Juggler to the Court of Bern.
These extracts embrace a great many of the beliefs common among the
people during the twelfth century.

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOKE.

I have said elsewhere • that it was an olil and common belief that the
soda of the departed inhabited the air, and coold at the will of a necro-
mancer be snmmoned to anj place, and oauscil to act in accordance with
hia degirea. The necromantic power was often claimed by the Charch
dnring the middle ages; and a good instance of their exercise of the
power is contained in a ballad in lUustratioas of Northern Antiquitiea.
An old pagan warrior, after many a hard fight, ia taken prisoner, and
saves hia life by becoming a Christian. He elects to join himself to the
Friars, but must firat undergo an act emblematic of haying renounced
his former life. He was sufficiently strong in the faith to be able to
resist in the future the Deyil and all hia temptations. This was tested
in the following manner : he was laid out on a bier as if he ware a dead
man, and in this state of assimilated death he was locked in the ctilirch
during the night.

"WTieii the night was come, lo the church the hero sped:
Sadden all the ghoats appeared wbo by his sword lay dead.
Many a fearfnll blow they stmti on the champion good;
Ne'er snch pain and woe he felt when on the field he stood;
Sooner bad he battle f ongbC with thoosandB on the Geld,
Striking dints with falchion keen on hia glittering shield.
Half the night against the b!ows he waged the battle fierce:
Bnt the empty air he stmtk where be weened their breasts to pierce.
Little recked they for bis blows, with hia terror and his woe,
E're the half the night was past his hair was white as snow;
And when the monks to matina sped, they fonnd him pale and cold :
There the Ghosts in deadly swoon hod left the champion bold."

There was a very old aud wide-spread belief, common in heathen
countries and also among Jews and Christians, which hngered on in our
own country till within this century, namely, that the Devil and other
evil spirits also appeared to women in the shape of men, and had issue
by them. Even to this day when a youngster is doing some great mis-
chief he is called " a devii's-get." Probably scriptnie narrative had much
to do with the shaping and perpetuating in this country this belief.
The text we refer to is in Genesis vi.: "The sons of God aaw the dangh-
tcra of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which
they chose;" and " When the sons of Glod came in unto the daughters of
men, and they bare children to them, the aarac became mighty men which
were of old, men of renown." Feniale apirits were also in the habit of
• fhlh-Lore of the Weit "/ Seotland in this e«ntury, p, 1 1 .

»8

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE.

tempting men to tlieir embrace. In the prefatory notice to the Rot.
Robert Lbw'h Memorialls, printed in 1818, there is the following : " A
young man near Aberdeen remarkable for his personal attractions com-
plained to the Bishop of the diocese that he was infested by a. spirit in
the shape of a female 'so fair and beautiful a thing he never saw the
like,' which»wouId come to his chamber at night and endeavour to
allure him to her embraces; tlie Bishop wisely advised him to remove
into another country and addict himself to fasting and prayer, which had
the desired effect." Lady Stairs, a noted witch in the seventeenth century,
was considered by the people to have been begotten in this way, and
that her husband and family were raised to great estate by the influence
of the Devil, whose offspring she was. One of the heroic ballads conoems
a case of supernatural birth. The mother of the Emperor O'tnits had
long been barren, to the great grief of her husbnnJ, but on a certain
occasion she met a dwarf named Elberich in an enchanted place, and
afterwards she bore a son who was called O'tnit. This dwarf afterwards
attached himself to the sou, generally attending him in an invisible state.
We are favoured with the dwarf's age at this time. Sir Eligas, &
foreign knight, saw him, and, being surprised at his childlike appearance,
questioned him;

" Quickly Bpalce Sir Eligas: thou little babe ake.
Why, far from friends and kindred, o'er tbe ocean didst tbon pass?
Not all so yonng am I as thy wits, sir cbampion weon,
Fifty and three hundred years in the world have I seen."
When O'tnit regretted his inability to speak the language of the
foreign people he was travelling among, the dwarf supplies his wants:
" Fear not, Sir O'tnit; here is a gem of monnd:
TboB will speak all langnages the spacious world aronndi
Each one cajist then answer from the north nnto the south.
When secretly the precions gem Hes hid within thy month."
This is probably a perversion of the seripturnl account of the gift of
tongues. These dwarfs and giants, as we have said, to servo their
favourite heroes would intrigue the one against the other. Wo may
cite the following instance. A dwarf named Bibunk helped a Christiaa
hero to frustrate the doings of a mighty giant:

" Much loved the little wight the noble Grecian king,
And soon upon his linger ho thmst a golden ring.
When the giant back retams, stick tby falchion in tbe sauil,
Hishawberk soft as load will turn; then pierce him with thy brand,"

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE.

The giant, thus foiled by the Christian warrior, retired to a wood and
drank of a miraciilona spring, which gave him the strength of sixteen
men. He also put on a silken shirt which no weapon could pierce.
Nevertheless by the aid of other charms these magic powers were
nentralised, and the Grecian king nltimately conquered the giant.

That some of the romantic ballads oE the middle ages were founded
upon a combination of Eastern fable and Bible history is evident from
the following : A hero of great renown fell asleep when out alone in
the woods, and was wakened by a female monster;
" On four feet did she crawl along
Like to a, shaggie bear."

the hero to become her lover, which he in-

This monster
dignantty refused :

" She took a spell of grammar^ , and threw it on the knight:
Still he stood, and moTeil noC (I tell the tale aright,)
, She took from him his falchion, nnlac'd his hawberk bright,

Monmfally Wolfdietiich cried, gone ia all my might."

Then again she asked him to love her, which he again refused:

" Another spell of might sho threw apon the hero good;
Fearfoilr she wilched him, motionless be stood ;
He slept a sleep of grammary, for mighty was the spell,
Down npon his glittering shield, on the sod ho fell.
AU above his ears, his golden hair she cnt;
Like a fool she dight Mm, that his champions knew him not;
Witless roved the hero for a year the forest ronnd;
On the earth hia food he gather'd as in the honk ii found."

This has evidently a reference to the story of Nebuchadnezzar, bnt the
material of the ballad is evidently a mixture of the biblical narrative
and the story of " Beauty and the Beast." After the hero was kept a
year in this condition, the monster again visited him :
" There naked, like an innocent, ran the hero bold.
Strait the spell of grammary from his ear she did unfold;
His wits he aoon recover'd, when the spell was from his ear.
But bis vissagc and his form was hlack and fonl of cheer :
Wilt thon win me for a wife, gentle hero say?
Speedily he answer'd to the lady, nay."
She now desired the hero to go with her to witness her baptism, and
to induce him to do so promised to restore to him his armour. On
coming to her chamber there was a well there, into which she leaped:
h2

100 OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOUE.

" Her bristly hido she left nil in the flowing tide:
Never g&zing cliampion lovelier lady eyed."
The laily now urged liim to follow her example, eajing :
" li bcanteoOB tiion nilt be,
In the flowing funntaia bathe theo speedily;
Fair thy visage will becolDo,
Btitcic and font he leaped iota the well of yoath.
But white and fair ho iasnod with nublo form forsooth."
Tlie notion that some walls had the power of purifying and beautify-
ing thoae who bathed in them is no doubt an Eastern fiction confirmed
probably in nfter tiineB by the scripture narrative of the waterB of
TSethcsda, as this narrative made in Christian times the existence of
these wells a truth." This old Eastern fancy passed through the middle
ages as a living faith, and was sanctioned by the Chtu^h, which con-
secrated wells, imparting to the waters healing and beautifying powers.
Such consecrated waters, or holy wells, are still frequented for t
healing rirtues.
In the same ballad we meet the following:

" In the giant's conrtly hall winsome dwarfq appeared.
Who the castle and the monnt with canning art bad reared."

It was a popular belief in Scotland up to our own doy, and probably
there arc some who still hold it, that the Picts or Pechs, as they are
called in Scotland, were a race of dwarfs who occupied themselves in
building, especially mj>nasteries and ehurelies. A tradition still exista
that the High Church of Glasgow was built l)y the Pechs, and that they
hod a subterranean passage passing under the Clyde from the church to
Rutherglen. A similar tradition exists Jn reference to Paisley Abbey.

In onother ballad called " Hughdietrich and his eon Wolfdietrich "
a pagan king had a beautiful daughter whom many youthful heroes
sought to marry. She possessed extraordinary witch powers, by which
she contrived the destruction of all who yielded to her terms of love.
One Christian hero, Wolfdietrich, refused the conditions imposed upon
him, and taking horse prepared to leave the castle or palace :

• Id Barbftzan, ed. 1808, iv. ISO, there is a cnrii
of youth and the effects of bathicg in it:

" la fontaine de Joiient

Qui fet tajovenir lo gent."

B woodcnt repreeenting a well

OLD BALLAD POLK-LOBE.

101

Now before the easUo gate sparred tho noble knight,
Bat be viewed a swelling aea, wioaght b; magic sleight,
Who caosed the roaring waves to flow the bnrgh aronnd
Whore grass and flowers blossomed before apoa the gronnd ;
Into the roaring waters he apnrred his courser good,
But raging all aronuil him mshed the magic Booii ;
The powers of the swelling waved his strength coald not withstand,
With mighty force they drove him aback npon the strand,"
The hero, being thus baffled by the flood, yielded to ent«r hor chamber.
There she confessed her love for him and aasured him of safety from
her father, but he refused to accept her until she was baptized, Thia
she would not submit to. Thinking to gain hia liberty, he killed her
father and then adroitly tied the maiden npon hia horse before him and
was riding away when she again exercised her witch power;

" With magic art all o'er the lake a broad bridge threw the dame,

Bnt onward as thoy rode, utill narrower it became;

la wonder stood the hero ; to the maiden be gun say,

Dojnsel, truly t«II, who has borne the bridge away-
Little care I though yon drown, cried dame Marpalj.

Then graithe thee, said the hero, 'tis than must plunge with mo.

Ho harm the wavca can do me, with magic am I digbt.

Then speed we to the castle hack, cried the Christian kuight.

Back the fearloas hero turned his trusty horse,

Bnt down the bridge was broken by the lady's magic force.

In his sorrow, cried the champion, help, God, in this my ooodl

Bay how we may hither pass, damsel right areecl.

From the courser Marpaly anddenly would fly.

Stay thou here, thou woman fell! quickly must thon die.

Piteonsly she wept, prayed him her life to save.

He tied her to his body fast and plunged into tha wave.

In the name of God he leaped into the lake amain;

But the wat«r anddenly was gone; on the mead he stood again.

Suddenly npon the mead, hec garment down she throw.

And showed her beauteous form to the wondering champion's view.

Her hands she clasped together, on the hero did she look,

And straight, by arts of grammary, a raven's form she took.

High upon a tree perched the raven black.

Before and during last century it was commonly believed that if a
mnrder was committed, no matter how secretly, should the person who
committed the crime come near the murdered body the wounds which
cansed the death would bleed afresh. As an ordeal or test, if any per-
son woe suspected he or she was brought to see the corpse and made to

104 OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE.

conceptiona, and introducing new material of its own, the prodact
a development differing considerablj from the early forms, although
the Buperstitiona were about equal in qaanfity. In the later form
mermen and mermaiiis have become prognosticators of eyil, either of
weather or to some peraona, and when they apeak, which thej had
the gift of doing in any language, it is always to predict evil or decoy
some illfatcd individual to their destruction. This is illnatrated in
several ballads. Take the following, intitleil " The Master of
hy Motherwell, from MittstreUei/ Ancient and Modern.-

" The; have boiated eayle and left the laDd,

Tbey have saylit milis three,
When up their lop the bonnie mennayd,

All in the norland sea.
' wharo saile ye, ' qno the bonnie mermayd,

Upon the sant sea faem,
It's we are bouade outil norroway,

God seod na acaitbless hame.
Down donkit then the mermayden.

Deep iutil the middil sea,
And merry leneh that master banld

With bis jolly companie;
When lo' nplap ehee Cbo gnde ships side

The self same monnaydcn,
Shee hild a glass intil her richt hande,

Id the other shee held a kame.
And shoe kcmbit her haire and aye ahee sang

As shee fcaCerit on the facm,
And shee gliikit aliont and ronnd abont

Upon the waters wan.
nevir again on land or soa

Shall he seen siik a fair woman.
And shee shed tbe boiro off her milk white bree

Wi' her fingers sae ama' and lang,

Sae loader was aye ber sang.
And ayo sheo saog and aye shoe aang,

As shee rode npon tbe aea,
If ye l>ee men of christian monlde

Throwe the master oat to mee.
ItV. never n word spake the master banlde,

But a loud laugh kucb the Crewe,
And in the deep tbon the mcrmityden

Don's drappit frae their vicwe.

t of

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE,

105

Gi>oil Lord I there is b Boaad o' fire

Fast coming out owre the sea,
And fast therein that grim mennafden

la safting an Co thee.
Shee hailes the sliip wi a sbrill shrill cry,

Shea is coming alarc more near.
An wo« is ma now said tho master baulde
For I baith do see and hear."
In a song entitled " The Mermaid," from Legendary Ballads of
England and Scotland, tlie niermaid ia identified with the Water Kelpie
and the Elf, She decoys a knight to his destructiou:
" To jon faase stream, that, near t^e sea,
Hides manj an elf and plnm,
And rives wi fearfal din the stanes,
A witless Jtnicht did come.
Froe neath a rock, sane, sane she raise,
And stately on she swam ;
Stopped i' the midst, and becked and sang
To him to stretch his ban'.
The smite npon her bonnie cheek
Was sweeter than the beo,
Her Yoiee excelled the bnrdios sang
Upon the birchen tree.
8ac couthio, conthie did she look,
And meiklo had she fleeched.
Ont shot his hand, Alas I olasl
Fast !□ the ewirl he screeched.
The mermaid lench, her brief was gone.
And Eilpie'B blast was blawin.
Fa' low she doked, ne'er raise again.
For deep deep was the fawin.
Aboon the stream his wraith was secii.
Warlocks tirled Inng at gloamin,
That e'en was coarse, the blast blew hoarse,
Ere lang the waves war foamin,"
The following is an account of one that was caught in a net in a
pool of the sea in Galloway, and her purrose is evident.* We haye here
more of the elf or the supernatural power of the dwarfs and witches:
" He spread his broad net, where 'tia said in the brine
The meimaidena sport mid the meri^' moonshine.
He drew it and langh'd, for he fonnd 'moogst the meshes
A fish and a maiden, with silken eye-lashes ;
* ffiitorical and TraditioHal Jiilet eonnceted Kith the South qf Scotland,

106

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE.

And she sang with a loice, Hko May Morley'a of Larg,
' A maid aui a salmon for young Sandy Huxg.'
white wero her arms, and far whiter her neck,
Hgt long loi'ks in annfula ocrfluwed all the deck.
One hand on the rodder abe pleasantly kid,
Another on Sandy, she merrily ssiid :
' Thy halve net has wronght tboo a gallant daye darg,
Thon'rt monarch of Solwaj, my yonng Bandy Harg.'
loud langh'd young Sandy, and ewuro by the maas,
111 neTsr reign king bnt 'mid gowans and gmia ;
Oh loud langh'd yonng Sandy and swore ' By thy hand,
My May Morlej, I'm thine both by water and land:
Twere marrol it mer-woman Bliniy and slarg,
Conid change the true love of yonng Sandy Hargi'
She knotted one ringlet, syao knotted she twain.
And eang — lol thick darkness dropp'd down on the main —
Bhe knotted three ringlets, syne knotted aha nine,
A tempeet etoop'd endden and sharp on the brine.
And away flew the boat — there's a damsel in Larg
Will wonder what's came of thee, yonng Sandy Harg.
* The sky's spitting fire,' cried Sandy, ' and see,
Green CriSel reels ronud and will chockc np the sea.
From their bottles of tempeiit the Sends draw the corks,
Wild Solway is barmy like ale when it works,
There dls Satan's daughter who works the dread darg
To mar my hlythe bridal,' quoth yonng Sandy Harg.
From his bosom a spell to work wonders ho took,
Thrice kiss'd it and smiled, then triumphantly shook
The boat by the mddcr, the maid by the hair ;
With wailing and shrioks she bewildered the air ;
He flung her far seaward, then sailed off to Lai^,
There was mirth at the bridal of yonng Sandy Harg."
Many are the curious details existing in books and coming down to t
na by tradition of mermaids being seen, of tbeir appcarnnce, and the \
evil results wliicli attended their appearance. lu an Aberdeen almanoa J
for 1488 there occurs the curious statement:

" Near the place where the Dee payeth its tribute to the Ghrmaa I
Ocean, if curious observers of wonda-Jul things in nature will be pleased
thither to resort on the Ist, 13th, and 29tb of May, and in divers other '
times in the insueing summer ; as also in the harvest time to the 7fli ]
and 14th of October Ihey will vndoubUdly see a pretty company of
mermaids, creatures of admirable beauty, and likewise hear their charm-
ing sweet melodious yoices :

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOttE.

107

" In noli traced measure and bartnonionB laya
Extol their maker and his bonnt; praise.
That godly hootwt inon in every thing
In quiet peace maj live. God save the King."
"To the mind of the lower races it seems that all nature i3 possessed,
pervaded, and crowded with spiritnal being." Witii such a philosophy
of nature as this we need not be surprised that our forefathers believed
that birds and beasts, and even inanimate nature, could at times speak and
carry messages and tell matters they had witnessed in their journeying.
" A bird told it to me " is still a, proverbial expression wlien any one
comes to the knowledge of a secret. Tte popular Jacobite song "A wee
bird cam to our ha' door," composed within this centmy, helps to com-
memorate this idea. This song as stated is modem, hut at the data to
which it refers, 1745, the notion was not altogether a poetical thought,
but a real belief among the people of the highlands of Scotland, and we
know that it was part of the theology of the old Celtic harda that the
souls of the departed entered into animals, and that at times the spirits
of the living could leave the body to visit, or communicate information,
through animals. In one of the old ballads in lUmtration of Nortkei-n
Antiquities a knight is represented as keeping two nightingales tor
the purpose of revealing secrets to him.

" Two nightingales Sir Sameing has,
They ladies kon aae woel.
And fSa he a may or Ms he nane,

Sae Boothly they can tell.
Sir Samsing says to his nightingalea,

Now sing what Inck I hae,
Hao I a may or hae T nane,
I' the bride-bed now wi' mB.""
The following instance is from the ballad of " Fair Midel and Ku^ten
Lyle." Kirsten is seduced and bears twins while Midel is absent
searching for water,

" And whan to the bum fair Mcdel he wan,
A nightingale sat on a twist and sang:
Little Kiraten ebe Uea i' the green wood dead,
Twa bfumies are in her oxter laid.
O' the nightingale's sang sma' reck he's taen,
And hack the lono gait thro' the wood he'a gme,
And when be the hytbe site thick wan to,
Sae found he the nightingale's sang waJS true."
Another instance taken from the same work ; it tells its own story.

108 OLD BALLAD FOLE-LOEE.

" Tbo titmonee wing Tcry flweotly, mj brother ie in the chamber,
Oo, my little aiatcr, and hear what BODg the titmouse Bingi.
The titmoaxe tiogi this soug: Brother miut Co ttio w«,rB,
Weep not, m; little sister, if I return not myself ;
Yet, It my chai^r tetnma, ask of him, where (oil the riiler."
In Ibe Minsfrehy Ancient and Modern, the young Lnird Jobnlefl
fircadialee gws out with Ilia dogs to limit, and is nttackod by ae
foresters, and left mortally wounded ; be tJicn saya ;
"0, is there nti a bonnio hinl.can sing as I can aay;
Could tleo away to my mother's bower, and tell to fetch Johnie away?
The starling Bew to his mother's witidow-stane, it whistled and it sang.
And aye the ower word o' the tone was — Johnie tarries lang.''
In tlie ballad of "Earl Richard" from the same volume a young lad^
throngh jealousy marders tbe young Earl and bides bia body in ber
bower till tbe morning, wbcu

" She called her servants ane by sue, she called them twa by twa:
1 have got a dead man in my bower, I wish be were awa'.
The ane has taen him by the hand and the other by the feet.
And the'vo thrown him int« a deep draw well, full fifty fathoms deep.
Then np bespakc a little bird that sat upon a tree,
Oae batne, gae hamo, yo funac lady, and pay ponr maids their fee,
Come down, come down, my pretty bird, that siM upon a tree;
I have a cage o' beaten gold, I'll gie it nnto thee.
Goe hamo, gac hamo, ye f auao lady, and pay yonr maidi their fee.
As ye have done to Earl Hichard, soe wonid you do to me."
In tbe ballad of " Sweet William," from tbe same Tolnme, a fatt
wisbes to force bis daughter to marry a man she did not wish: ehe i
in sore strait.

•' She walked np, she walked down, had nano to make her m
Nothing hut a pretty bird sat on the canaeway stone.
' If tboQ conld speak, wee bird, she aays, as well as thon can flee,

I would write a lang letter to Willy ayont the sea.'
' What you want with Will, it says, tbon'lt seal it wi' thy ring,
Tak a thread o' silk, and another o' twine, and about my neck it blag.
What she wanted wi' Willie,

She scaled it wi' a ring.
Took a thread o' silk, another o' twine,

Abont its neck did hing.
This bird flew high, thia bird fiew low.

This bird flew o'er the sea,
Untill it entered the aame chamber
Wherein was aweet Willie."

OLD BALLAD FOLK LORE.

109

Our next illuatration is from a ballad called " Young Huntin," taken
from Legendary Ballads of England and Scotland (Chandos ClasBicB);
tLe incidents are the same as in " Earl Richard :" a young lady kills
her lover through jealousy, then bribes her maidens to help to dispose
of the body, which is taken by them on horseback and flung into the
Clyde. Young Huntin being missed, search was being made in the
Clyde for his body. The marder having been seen by a popinjay the
young lady had, the bird spoke and gave her warning.
" Then ap end Epnk the popinjay that Bat aboon her heid,
ladye keep weel joor green cleicien frae gude jonng Hnntin's bleid."
While the peopk were searching for the body, the king, Young
Huntin's father, slept in the lady's castle. The following tella the
revelation made by the bird:

" It fell that in that lady's castle the king was bonn' to bed.
And oat and Bpak the popinjay that Sew aboon his heid,
Leave off your docking in the day, and dunk npon the nieht,
And where that tiaiklese knii^ht lies Elain the candles they'll bom bricht.
They booted him, and spnired him, as he'd been gann to ride,
A hnotjng'hom abODt hU neck, a sharp sword by his side.
In the deepest pool in Clyde water it's there they flnng him in,
Wi' a turf on hia breist bane to hand yonng Hnntin doon."
In a ballad in the same collection called " The King in tlic North "
Earl Percy is warned by a bird of what is before him.
" Barl Percy is nnto his garden gane,
And after Iiim walks his fair lady,
I heard a bird eing in mine ear,
Tliat I mast either fight or flee.
In a ballad called " The Maiden and the Hazel " in lUvslratiotiB of
Ifortkera Antiquities we have an instance of a hazel-bnsh speaking.
" A lassie gacd ont a rose^atbering
I' tbe green wood a' her lane,
And she fand by the gaite a haael tree

Was growing fresh and green.
Gnde morrow, gudo morrow, ray hasel dear.

How comes that ye're sae green?

O thank ye, thank jc, maiden gay,

How comes that ye're sae sheen?

The lassie that wishes ber garland

To keep tnann bide at heme;
Nor dance o'er tate in the gloamin,
Hor gang to the green wood hor lane.''
The next quotation is from a ballad called by Sir W. Scott " The

110 OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE.

Crael Sister."" False Hpleii drowns her sister by poshing her into a

niilldani. An olil harper makes a harp out of the drowned lady's breasts

bnne and takes it to her father's hall, where was met the court.

" He brought the harp to her father'a hall,

And there was the voatt BKembled alt.

He laid hie baqi npon a stone.

And Htraight it began to plaj alone:

O, jonder sits mj father, the king,

And joDdec aits mj mother the qneen,

And yonder stands mj brother Hnch,

And by him niy William sweet and trne.

And Oie last tnne that ttle harp plajed then

Was wae lo my sistBr falsa Helen."
The notion that ghosts or the spirits of the deitd at times visit the
living is not only very old, hut it is still the creed of many. Only the
^t occasion for the visit mnst have special importance, ns for instance

^H where there has been misunderstanding between the dead and living

^M or in cases of hidden murder, when the buried dead cannot rest in their

^H graves. Of the first case we have an instance in an old ballad, " Young

^M Benjie." Two lovers quarrel, and the young man in a fit of anger and

^1 jealousy throws his sweetheart into a pool, and she was drowned. Her

^M brothers by superstitions means try and find the murderers.

^H "The night it is her low lykcwake, the mora her hnrialday,

^H And we maan watch at mirk midnight, and bear what she will say;

^H Wi' door ajar and candle light, and torches burning clear,

^^H The Btieikot corps till still midnight they waked bat nothing hear.

^^H Aboat the middle o' the night the cocks began to craw.

^^H And at the dead hour o' the night the corps began to thraw,

^^H O wbae has done the wrang, sister, or dared the deadly sin ?

^^^1 Wba was sac' stoat and feared nae dout to throw ye o'er the linn?

^^H Young Benjie was the first ae man I laid my love npon ;

^^^1 He was soe stout ami pcoud-hearted he threw me o'er the linn.

^^H Sail wo yonng Bonjie head, sistor, sail we yoang Benjie hang,

^^^1 Or sail we piko oat bis two gray e'en, and punish him ere he gang ?

^^^1 Tie a greea gravat aboat his neck, and lead him out Euid in,

^^^1 And the best ae servant abont your house to wait yoang Benjie on.

^^^1 And aye at eveiy seven years' end yo'll take bim to the linn;

^^^1 For that's the pennance he maun dree, to scug his deadly sin."

^B The following is from the ballad of the "Jew's Daughter," in Mother-

^H * TramactioKi of ArcliiEohigical Sacktij n/ Glatginr, vol. i.; Minstrcliy tif

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE. Ill

well's collection, A youth was murdered and his body thrown into a
drsw-well, and he speaks to his mother Crom the well :
" She rftL away to the deep draw-woll,
And aho fell down on her knee;
Saying, boDnie Sir Hugh, o pretty Sir Hagh,

I pray ye, apeak to mo.
01 the leail it is wondrous heatj', mother.

The well it 13 wondrona deep,
The little penknife sticks in mj throat,

And I downa to je speak.
Bnt lift mo out of this deep draw-woll.

And bnry me in yon chnrch-jard;
Pnt B. bible at my head, he aaya,

And a testament at my feet,
And pen and ink at erery side;
And I will lay still ajid sleep.
And go to the hock of Maitland town,

Bring me my winding aheet;
For it's at the back of Maitland towD,
That you and I shall meet."
The ballfMl oF " William's Ghost," is founded upon a superstition as
to the interchange of love tokens,

" There came a ghoat to Marjorie's door,
Wi' many a grieToua maen.
And aye he tirl'd at the pin,

Bnt answer made she none.
Oh sweet Marjoriel oh dear Marjoriel

For faith and choritic,
Gi»e me my faith and troth again

That I gied once to thee.
Thy faith and troth 111 ne'er gio thee,

Nor yet ahall onr trne love twin.
Till yon tak' me to yoor ain ha'-hoose,

And wed mo wi a ring.
My honse is but yon lonesome grave

Afar ont o'er yon lee,
And it is hnt my spirit, Marjorie,
That's speaking onto thee."
She followed the spirit to the groTe, where it lay down nnd confessed
that William had betrayed three maidens whom he had promised to
marry and in consequence of this misdemeanour he could not rest in
his grave till she released him of hie tows to marry her. On learning
this Araijorie at once released him.

OLD BALLAD rOLK-14^1^

■• nn *»■* iMmtMfhn «Uk. white ^»A.
And iCmtk hliB M> tha bote
ScTinf, k*Tc je a^m yoor bilk b^ n«ch,
Aad I «M ro" ~^ Bnod ■««-'*
In " Clerk Btaiat " «■ hkre uottMr inrtaneg of gboot vinlriMi;
tbo ffuadniU £ff<r, but tbe ytAtAOatj is that tbe bal^ ^wM ^
"Cl«rk6aiid(n">nbotli[ooiMiedonllMMBwstat7. CSaricSaBdnw
tii« Mti of u «arl, who ootuted tbe Idtig'* daagfatcr, I^idjr Mvpni.
Tb«7 ioTsd sacb otbur even in the modsn seue of lovas too wdL
Mtfgamt had wran bnthm, who siisp«:t«d an i o tr ^u ^ md A^cHt
ttpon tbem logetiter In bed ajid killed Clerk Kandm, wboaft ^m* vm
time nftflr Mme to M«rg»ret'« window And Mid :

" U, krc JO ilccjiing, HargWFt? be ikje.

Or are f e waking preacntlic ?
Oite mo mj faith Bnd troUi Igtun,

I veil, true lore, I gicd to thee.
I onna raX, Hugaret, he Hji,

DowD in the grate where I mmt bo
Till }'e (tie me mj futh aad tioth agAiB,

1 wot, true lore, I giecl to ihce.
Tbj faitb and troth thoa shall oa get,

Atid oat troe lore ahall nerer twin.
Untill JB tell n-bat comci o' women,

I wot, who die in strong trarailing.
Their lieds are inade in the hearena higli,

Down at the foot of oar Lont'i knee,
Wcel let aboDt wi' gilliflowers,

1 wot sweet company for to we.
O, cocks are crowing a mcrrj jnidnight,

I wnt the wild fowls are boding dnj,
The psolma of honrcn will aoon be snng.

And I, ore now, will be miseed awaj.
Then the has ta'en a crjatall wand.

And she bus Htrokcn her tbrotb thereon;
She has given it him out of the ahot-windoiir

Wi' mnny a nigh and bearj goao.
I thank ye, Margaret; I thank je, Uorgaret;
■ And aye I thank ye heartiliei
Oin eror the doiid romo for the quick,

Bo »Qro Miirgivrot, I'll come for tbco.
Then np and crew the milk-white cock.

And op and crew the gray;

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOKE. 11

Her lover ranislied in the air,
Aad ehe gaed weeping awaj."

Another inataace of ghosts visiting and speaiing with the living

fonnd in a song wliich ia more modem than any of the above :

Mary's Dream " Mary's betrothed ia lost at gea, and hia ghoa

" Mary laid ber down to Bleep,

Her thonghta on Snndy, far at see,
When soft and slow a Toice was heard:

Mary, weep no more for mo.
She from her pillow gently raised

Her head to ask who there might be,
She &BW young Sandy Bhiv'rlng stand

With Tiaage pale and hollow e'e.
O Mary, dear, cold ifl my clay.

It lies beneath a stonnj eea.
Far, f !tr from thee I sleep in death.

So Mary weep no more for mo."

The ballad of " Tamlane" is founded upon an anelent auperstitjon.
Tamlane, the son of the earl of Murray, was stolen when a boy
by the fairies, and kept by them for a while. He was well contfliit to
remain, but, hearing that every seven years an inmate was given to the
devil as a sort of tax, and having become fat and well-favoured, he was
afraid that he might be chosen, and therefore he longed to escape.
One day the daughter of the Earl of March went out into the fields,
and as she was pnlhng some roses, a little dwarf stood beside her,
and asked her why she did so without hia leave. A mutual love soon
sprang up between them, but she was anxious to know if he had been
baptized.

" The tmth ye'll tell mc, Tamlane,

A word yo maunna lee,

Gin ere ye was in haly chapel.

Or sained in ChrLstentie,

Then he told her who he was and how he had been stolen away, and
what she was to do in order to get him from the fairies, and he pro-
mised that, if she succeeded in freeing him from the faii'ies, he would
marry her,

VOL. II. I

I OLD BilXLAD FOLK-LOBB,

" Than cam a wind out of the uorUi,

A sharp wind and a gattt;
& deep sleep came over me,

Asd frae mj bone I fell.
The Qawn o' fairies keppet me,

Id jod j^oq bill to dvell.
And I would nut tire, Janet,

In fairy-tand hi dwell;
Bnt aye at ilka Helen jmm.

The; paj the teind o' hell ;
And 1 am sa fat and fair o' flesb,

I foar t'will be myaell.
The night it i« good ballowe'en,

When fairj folks nill ride,
Add she that wad her trno love win

At miies ctobb she maun bide ;
And ye inann gac to the miles cross.

Between twal honrB and one,
Take holj water in jour hand.

And cast a compass roan :
First let pass the black, Janet, and ayno let paas the brown,
Bnt grip je to the milk-white steed, and pn tbe^dder donn j
They'll torn me in yonr arms, J&net,

An adder and & snake,
Bnt hand me fast, let me not pass.

Gin ye wonld be my maik (wife)i
They'll tnm me in yonr nrma, Janet,

An adder and an sake,

They'll tarn me in yottr arma, Janet,

A bale that bnms fast ;
They'll shape mo in yonr arms, Janet,

A doTe bot and a swan :
And last they'll shape me in yonr arms

Amother naked man ;
Cast yonr green nmntle orer me

I'll be myself again."

The lady obejed all tliese instractioua and gained hor lover from fairie
land. Modem inatancca are recorded of the same means being tried
succesafully to win stolen people from fairie land.

There was another curious folk-lore belief, that, in cases where lovers
had vowed (« each other or were betrothed, the one gare the other a love-
gift or covenant-token, such as a coin or a ring ; the same also took
place in cases where a husband was obliged to leave his wife for some

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE. 115

time. If when absent the parties became nnfaitkfall io their pledgos,
this covenant-token magicallj made the fact known. In the ballad of
" Lambert Lintin," Miaetreley Ancient and Modern, — •

" The lord sat in England a ilrinking the wine,
1 wish, a' may be weel wi' my lady at hame.
For the rings o' my fingers they are now burst in twain !
He saddled bis boree acd he came riding down:
Bat as soon as he viewed Belinkin was in,
He had na weel stepped twa etepa np the stair,
Till he saw hia pretty yoang son lying dead on the floor.
He had na weel stepped other two up the stair
Till he saw his prettj lady lying dead in dispair."

In the ballad of " Hyndc Horn " is another instance of lovers'

" And she gave me a gay gold ring,
That WM to mlo abnno a' thing,
As laug's this ring it keeps the hae,
Ton'Il know I am a lover true |
Bat when the riog turns pale and wan,
Te'll know I love another man.
He hoist up sails, aud awa sailed he
And sailed into a far countrie.
And when be looked the riug upon
Ho knew she loved another man.
He hoist np sails and hame cam he.
Home nnto his ain country ;
The first he met, on hia own laud.
It chanced to be a beggar man.
What news, what news, my gnde anld man,
What news hae ye by sea or hind?
Nae news, uae news, tbo puir man did say,
Bnt this is our queen's wedding day."

He got access to the bride and returned the ring, the old love was re-
kin(Jled, and thej were married.

In every age a traitor or faithless friend has always been held up to

8Com, bnt in the times when these ballads were composed it was

believed that some judgmentwould soon befall the traitflr. In the ballad

of "Sir James the Rose" his betrayer is spirited away:

116 OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOB£.

" Its for yonr sake Sir James the Rose

That my poor hearts a-breaking,
Cursed be the day I did thee betray,

Thou brave knight o' Bnleighan.
Then np she rose and forth she goes,

And in that fatal hour.
She bodily was borne away

And neyer was seen more ;
Bnt where she went was neyer kent,

And so, to end the matter,
A traitor's end yon may depend

Can neyer be no better.'*

In a ballad called " Northumberland betrayed by Douglas," Lady
Jane Douglas, the sister of the betrayer, possessed a magic ring through
which she could see into futurity or witness what was taking place in
other parts of the country. In one of the verses, which Bishop Percy
believed to be an interpolation, she warns Northumberland of his
danger and says:

** 1 never was on English ground,

Ne never saw it with mine eye,
Bnt as my book it sheweth mee

And through my ring I may descrye.
My mother shee was a witch ladye.

And of her skille she learned mee,
She wold let me see out of Longh-leven

What they did in London citie."

Lady Jane was desirous to show Earl Percy through the ring and
convince him of his danger, but he refused to go with her. She then
persuaded his chamberlain to look through:

" James Swynard with that lady went,

She showed him through the weme of her ring.
How many English lords there were,
Waiting for his master and him.*'

A witch lady— for in these times the rich were believed to possess
witch power as well as the aged poor — ^had a son whom she wished to
marry to a young lady of her choice, but he refused and married another
lady. His mother in revenge planned the young wife's death by magically
preventing her confinement. The son, knowing that this was the work

OLD BALLAD COLE-LOBE.

117.

of his mother, offered Ler large gifta to withdraw her spells, hut she
refused ; he then consulted a wizard, who advised hitn what to do to find
out the spells ; he went to his mother and asked her to congratulate him
on the birth of a son. She gets into a rage and says :

" O, wha liM loosed the nine witch knots
Thnt was among mj ladies locks,
And wha has taen onC the kame o' care
That waa among that ladies hair;
And wba has killed the master kid
That ran aneath that ladies bed;
And wha has loosed her left foot shce
And letten that lad; lighter bo? "

By this strategom he found out his mother's spells and removed them.

" And now he's gotten a bonny son
And mnckle grace be him npon."

A similar tale to this is told as a faet that took place in Arran within
this century. A young man jilted hia sweetheart and married another.
When the time of the wife's confinement came she was in a great agony,
A packman passing suspected the cause, went at once to the house of
the old sweetheart, and told that such an one had got a fine bairn ;
when up got the jilted fair one in a passion and pulled out a big
nail from the beam of the roof, saying to her mother, '' Mucklo good jonr
craft has done." At the same hour the wife was delivered. This
power, which some persona had over others, by the putting in a nail or pin
all who passed under it being spell-bound and nnder the will of the
witch, ia an old and very common belief in Scotland, There was a
noted wizard in Ayrshire, called the Laird of Fail, who had this power,
and many stories are current of the amosement he created to hia friends
by playing tricks npon people. The late Joseph Train, the well-known
antiquary, wrote a ballad including all the Laird's acta in witchery,
but it may be better given with others of a like nature at another time.
The Laird's power was similar to that which is attributed in the
sixteenth centmy to John Bale.

" Their wells T con up dr;, caase treea and herbs to dye,
And slao all pulterye. When as men doth me move,
I cane make stools tu dance, and earthen pottea to prance.
That none shall them enhance, and do bnt cast my glove.

118 OLD BALLAD KOLK-LOUE.

The following ballad gives a good idea of what was believed respect-
ing witch power and intrigue. It is called the " Witch Lady"
Traditions of

" Gae, tak' thia braide trae 'mang my liaire.

And thoc gowds rings aff my honde,
And binde my browe, my bomying browa,

Wi' a qahyto eaitc linen bande,
For yesti'cctia I dreamto I was qnhair flowerea

Blonmt fajre 'mang the evening dewe,
But tha nighte-ahado hung oTer the gilly-flower's head,

And it withered on tny view.
And I saw my William, liut a braida riyTer

Row'd him and me betncene,
And a highe-bome damo was by hia aide,

Wi' twa dark glincying eyne,
Aad aye her darke e'o echo liu'd an me

Till I qoail'd beneathe ita leme:
Ib there ane, amange a' my honr maidens

Can rede to mo toy dream o 7
Then ont and spake scho may Margret,

Gne saddle youi' fleetest ateede,
And kuockc at the pin of the Earlstone yetbi,

I*t nathing raarre yonr speed.
For lang has the Ladye of Earlatone tonre

Begrndgit je yero William's love,
And her witch-knottes power in ane eyj-1 bonre,

'Mang hia hearto'a Btringa acho has wove.
And scho'a coosten the glamonry ower his ce,

Witb ane art may nocht withstand.
Till of her wee finger ko noo thinks maire,

Than the haille of his anniee bande.
Or wist ye of a wice wajaard

Conld croaa the witche's spelle,
Bnt wichte and wice he'd baitho need be

Qnho needea must stryve with helle.
For Bcho gathered witch-dewe in the Kell's kirk-yard

In the niyrke howe of the moone,
And fed hersell with the wild nitch-miike

With a rede-hotte bnmjing spoone.
And scbo's washit hyselle in the raiLtn witche dew

Till her greye eyene shyno like starris.
Till the lip and the t^beoke of that ill woman

The djro of the reilde-rose maris,

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE. 119

And aho's bathed hyrsell in the wyld witch-milke,

That woman yoide of drede,
Till the downye swell of her heayying breastis

Gars tiie qnhyte rose hange its hede.
Then ont and spake he, the popinjay,

Hangs in fayr Annie's bowr —
It's ladye, I'll be your wiche wizzarde,

Will speede me tu Earlstone's towr.
The greene-thome-tree in the Earlestone lee,

Its I was nestled there.
But the Ladye of Earlstone herryed the nest

That cost my dam sic care,
And scho had me to her bowr, that witche Ladye,

Quhin I conn'd a* her fiend-taught spelles ;
But I sta' the worde quhen I took my leave,

Quhylk a' her glamour quelles.
I'll sing siccan notes in the Earlstone woodes

Sail reache that Ladye's boure ;
And I'll weave siccan sang in the Earlstone woods

Sal twyne her of her powere."

• • • •

" And alas, and alas I for that bonnie doo.

In the shirmars woodes sae greene.
For the greye oulet sits within her nest.

With her twa big gloweringe eyene.
And its Oh I and sing Oh I for that bonnie doo.

That moumes in the shirmars boure.
For the oulet has reaved her of her mate.

In ane evyl and luckless houre.
And the lone curdoo of that bonnie doo

Is herde o'er the braide Loch Ken,
Qwhyle her mate sits under the grey oulet's winge.

Like the chicken an under the henne.
Then out and spake he, Lord William:

' My bonnie bird, tell to me,
Quhair did ye get that waUe of woe,

Or quhae taught it to thee ?'
But up and spake scho, that witche Ladye,

* Gome, perch on this eglantyne.

And the quhytest brede shall be thy fede,
And thy drynke of the blude-red wine.'
< But it's nae, and it's nae,' sang the popinjay;

* I've tarryed here owr lange,

Tet before my flychte I tak outrychte.
Hear the last note of my sange.*

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE.

And be mintod the worde, the awesome words,

Rrach'd nao car bntiiii her ain;
Anil sterae as donth wax'd the ladye's wraithe,

And londo, Itmde wm her mane.
And icho iprmigQ throagb the gladei, and the deep dark shades,

Till acbo reach'd the boiling tinne t
And tlicre, mid tbe howlo of tbe wylde tnrmoile,

Sho has bnried both Bcbaitno and ajime."

The fnlbwing ballad, from Pedlar's Pack of Ballads, illnatrates afl
common piece of folk-Ion-, yet as old as centnries before the presenfcd
" There waa a ship, and a stiip of fame,
lAnncbed off the stocks, bound to the main.
With an hundred and fifty brisk yonng men,
Well picked and chosen eTery one.
Tbe first of April wo did set sail.
Blest with a sweet and pleasant gale.
For we were bound to New Bnrbary,
Willi all onr whole ship's company.
One DJgbt the captain ho did dream
There came a voice which said to him :
' Prepare yoa and your company ;
To-morrow night yon'U lodge with mo.'
This waked the captain in a fright,
Being the third watch of the night.
Then for his boatswain he did call,
And told to him his secrets all.
' When I in England did remain,
The holy Sabbath I did profane.
In dmnkenneas I took delight.
Which doth jqj trembling aoal affright;
A squire I slew in Slaffordflbirc,
All for tbe sake of a lady dear.'
They had not sailed a league, bnt three,
Till raging grew tbe roaring sea.
There rose a tempeat in the skies.
Which filled our hearts with f^at snrprise.
The sea did wash both fore and nit,
Till scarce one sail on board was loft.
Our yards were split and our riggin tore.
The like was never seen before.
The boatswain then he did declare
The captain was a murderer.
Which did enrage the wholu ships crew,
Onr captain OTerboard we threw.

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOHE.

Oar treacherous captain being gone,

Iminediatol; there was a calm.

Tlio winds did cease and the raging sen

Aa we went to Now Barbary.

Now seamen all where'er joa ha

I praj a ifaming take hy me,

An jou love yonr life atill haye a care.

That yon noTcr sail with a mnrderer.

Ill a ballad by Roaa, the author ot "The Fortunate Shepherdeas,"
there is reference to an ill e'e making all things disastrous, and the means
to ho taken to avert the influence;

" There was an anld wife and a wee pickle tow,

And aho would go try tlie epinning o't.

She lonted her down and the rock t/iak alow,

And that was a bad beginning o't ;

She sat, and sbe grat, ami she flate, and <die flang,

And she threw, and she blow, atid she wri^Ied and wrang,

And ahe choaked and boaked and cryed like ta mang,

Alas for the dreary beginning o't.

I'll gar my ain Tanmiie gao down to the howe,

And cnt me a rcick of a widdershin grow

0' gnde Rantry tree for to carry my Uyw,

And a spindle o' same for the twining o't.

For now when I mind I met Maggie Grim,

That morning jnat at the heginning o't.

She was nerer ca'd chancy hat canny and slim.

And so it has fared with the spinning o'ti

Bnt gin my new rock was anco cntted and dry,

I'll all Ma^e Cann and her cantrips dofj-.

And bnt any anssie (hesitation) the spbning I'll try,

And ye shall a' hear o' the beginning o't."

From Allan Ramaay we have a fine picture of folk-lore;
" Pictures oft she makes
Of folk she hates and ganr expire,
Wi' xlow and racking pain before the Gre,
Stnck fa' o' preens the deTilisli pictnre molt.
The paio by folk they represent is felt.

The following is an instance of the fairies spiriting away a young
Iftdy into fairieland, and may remind the reader of the story of Bonny
Kelminy in Hogg's " Queen's Wake ;"

King Arthur's sons o' merry Carlisle

Were playing at the Ba',

122

OLD BALLAD TOLK-LOHE.

T Bnrd Ellen

And there was
I' tho midst among them a'.
Child Rowland kicked wi' Lis foot
And keppet it wi' bia knee,
And aye as he played oat o'er them a'
O'er the kirk be gar'd it flee.
Bard Ellen round ahoat the aste
To seek the Ba' has gane,
Bnt aho bade laag and aje langor,
And she came na back again.
They songht her ea«t, they sought her west,
They songht her np and down,
And wae were the hearts in merry Carlisle,
Por she wae nae gait found,"
Her young brother by the aid of a wizard made his way into fairis ]
land, and by virtue oE a magic sword overcame the king of elfland J
and rescued Burd Ellen.

When a company could not agree aa to the direction in which th^fl

would travel, or when one waa in a dilemma ns to the road he should taks:|

to attain his journey's end, it wn? customary to let a staff fall nithootl

guidance and follow where its head pointed. The practice ia very ancient ; J

" En' on en' ho poised hia mng then,

Watch'd the airt its head did fa',

Whilk was east; ho lapt and snng then.

For there ia dear bade, Meg Macraw."

The following ballad is supposed to be the lamentation of Lady I

Casailia, known as the Gipay Lady, who eloped with an old lover in thsfl

garb of a gipsy. Her fall ia ascribed to witchcraft or gla

the following verse of a song long popular in Scotland:

" And ehe came tripping down the stairs,

With a' her maids before her,

As soon as he saw her weel fanred face.

He coost the glamonr o'er her."

The lady afterwards sings a lamentation :

*' Qnhom snld I warie bnt mj wicked weard,

Qnha span my thriftless thraward fatall thread?

I was bnt scanClie entrit in this eard,

Nor had offendid qnhill I felt her feed,

• See on the word Glamonr and the Legend of Glem, a paper by Professor I

Cowell in Joumnl of PkiJolugy, vi.; Conway'a Demonology and Dci-il-Lare, i, I

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LORE. 123

In liir nnhappj hands she held my hcid.
And straikit backwarda woodershina mj hair;
Sjne prophecjed I sonld aapyte and speid,
Whilk doable sentence wiiB bailb aaith and eatr,
For I was matchit with my mateli and mair;
No worldly woman never waa bo weill,
I was aceotintit couotess, but compare,
Whilk fickle fortune wbirld me from her wheel."

The following yersea taken from different narratives give snatchea of
other instances of folk-lore, iilastrating an almost universal hclief.

A woman took a hatred to her husband for some slight, and in this
state of mind the devil appears to her, as she said, and not only sng-
gested the means of revenge but nasisted her:

" The foal thief knotted the tother.
She lifted his head on hie,
Noarico drew the knot,

That gar'd Laird Wariston die."

The civil law could not take her plea and beheaded her for murder.
The following, which was written on his magic helt, is the warning

and hoast of a noted sorcerer in the heginning of tie seventeenth

century :

" Bnt, hear ye donee, hecanse js may meet me
In man/ shapes to day, nberc'er jou spy
This hrondcd bolt with characters ; 'tis I.
A gypsan Lady and a right botdam
Wraoght it by moonlight for me, and starSight,
Upon jonr grandam'a grave, that very night,
We earthed her in the shades, when onr dame Hecate
Made it her gaing night, over the kirk yard ;
When all the bark and parish ^kos set at her ;
While I aat whyrlaad of my brazen spindle,
At every twisted thred my rock let fly.
Unto the aerveters who did sit me nigh ;
Under the town tompike, which ran each Bpell,
She stiched in the work and knit it well i
See ye take tent o' thia."

Were we to take every reference to supernatural agency found in olden
time ballads, as the people helieved implicitly in the existence of
superaatoral powers who controlled every event in the lives either of

124

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE.

individnals or communities, there would be at hand an ever-n
solution for every thing that occurred which was not nnderstood i
these early times. And these Iwliefa were so fixed in the populu
mind that reason waa never appealed to; therefore poets or baUad-
makcrs had ample scope for explaining any circumstance, Shake^l
spear's writings, as we all know, are full of folk-lore, and this adds bo 1
the truthfulness of his depiction of character. This is wliat he makeS'l
one of his characters, who practised magic, affirm of his powers:

" I have bedimmed
The noontide tmn, called forth the mutinous winds,

And twist the green sea and the ainre vault

Bet roaring war : to the dread rattling thunder
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak
With his own bolt: the atroog-baaed promontory
Have I made shake, and by the spnra plaeked np
The pine and cedar. Graves at my conunand
Have waked their sleepers; oped and let them forth.
By my so potent art"

And ia our own day we find James Hogg in one of I
describing the doings of a witcli-wife:

" The second night, when the new moon set.

O'er the roaring sea we flew,
The cockle-ahcll onr trUHtj bark,

Onr Bails of tbe green sea-roe.
And tbe bauld winds blew, and the fire flauchtia flew.

And the sea ran to the sky,
And the tbandor it growlit, and the sea-dogs bowlit,

Aa we gaed sconring by.
And aye wc moiuted the sea-green hills,

Qnbilk we brushed thro' the clnda of the hovin,
Then sonsit downright, like the stem-sbot light,

Frae the lifts bine casement driven,"

Coming to modem times, we have songs in which folk-lore is re^^
ferred to as of common knowledge ; thus in Bums's song of " Tam Glen "
a young girl is in a great dilemma and is seeking advice from her
sister. She is courted by a rich man who traste to his riches to gain
her hand, but love has been before him in the person of a youth of her
own order, and she is desirous to obtmn direction from Providence to

OLD BALLAD FOLK-LOBE. 125

enable her to decide betiireen the two, and sbe puts into practice the
nsnal meana to gain this end. On Hallowe'en she went to a south-
running hum at a point wliere three lairda' lands met, and dipped the
left Bleeve of her shirt, taking care that no person saw her, and retired
to her bod, first hanging up the shirt before the fire ; she then lay
awake till midnight ; then she saw her future husband or his wraith
come and turn over the shirt. Not content with this, she along with a
number of others, as was nsnal on Valentine eve, met together, wrote
down the names of a number of young men, put them into a hat, and
each girl drew out a name, which, being repeated three times, if the
same girl drew the same name ever; time, it was a decisiTe Indlcatjon of
the will of Providence.

" The last Hallowe'en I was wankin
Mj droakst sark sleeve as ye ken,
Bis lil^enesa came up the hoase Btaakm,
And Che Tery gray brceks o' Tarn Glee.

"Teatreen, at the Valentine's dealing
My heart b> my men' g^ed a Eten,
For thrite I drew ane without failing,
And thrite it was written Tam Glen."

In another modern ballad bj Tannahill the poet makes a lorer
endeavour to excite compassion in the heart of his lady-love by drawing
upon old anperBtitions freets in order to gain admission to her house.

" Fearful soneha the Bonrtree Bank,

The rifted wood roars wild and dreary,

Load the iron yetts do clank,

The cry o' howlots maka me eery.
0, are ye sleeping, Maggie,
O, are ye sleeping, Maggie,
Let me in, for lend the linn
Is roaring o'er the Warlodt Craigie."

A beautiful description of a dark stormy night, but the effect is
greatly increased by the belief that all is the work of the spirit of evil.
The Bourtree Bank ia a haunted place. The loud noise of the linn is
the roaring of the water kelpie, and it is dangerous to go near. And
the weirdnesa of the occasion is heightened by the addition of a wiaard-
hauuted rock over which the water falls. The " Warlock Craigie " is

126 OLD BALLAD FOLK^LOBB.

the wizard rock. Indeed, everything is snggestive of danger from
evil spirits, and seems well calcnlated to excite sympathy in the heart of
the sweetheart who was a believer in all these freets.

The beliefs referred to were the theology of the day, and formed the
practical creed of the people, of the educated as well as the ignorant.
The present paper is, of coarse, meant to be suggestive rather than
exhaustive— the initial contribution, il is hoped, to some further
study of the subject that would make a valuable chapter of Folk-Lore.
Writers on history and on the social condition of by-gone times too
often overlook the character of the beliefs that really ruled and guided
the people, and so their readers are left in ignorance of the true cause
of much which occurred, and fail to explain the natural growth of
civilization and the progress of man*s mind. The old ballad, says
Mr. Wheatley, in his Introduction to Bishop Percy's ReliqueSt filled
the place of the modem newspaper, and history can be read in ballads
by those who try to understand them.

JAMES NAPIER.

A NOTE ON THE " WHITE PATEBNOSTEE."

paragrapi

JR. THOMS, in his valuable Paper on Chaucer's Night Spell
(Folk-!ore Record, 1878, p. 145), makes mention of the
Patemostre Blanche, preserved ia the Enchiridion Papte
Leonis. It is, perhaps, not generiiily known that one
of this curious formula siirvivea to the present day as a
part of the living traditional matter of at leaat five European countries.
The variants that I have collected in the course of some years' studies
in folk-song might probably be added to almost ad libitum, but even
by themselves they fiirniab a atriking illustration of the universality
of certain forma of popular lore.

l^e paragraph I allude to runs as follows : — "Au soir m'allant
CDuuher, je trouvis trois anges k mon lit couches, un aux pied, deux
au chevet, la bonne Vierge Marie au milieu, qui me dit que je me
couobis, que rien ae doutis."

Most persons are familiar with the English version of this : —

" Fonr coraerfl to my bed,
Tonr angelB roond m; head.
One to wateb, one to pray.
And two to bear my Bonl away."

A second variant was set on record by Aubrey, and may also be read
in Ady's Candle in the Dark (1655) :—

" Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Bless the bed that I lye an ;
And blessed gnordion angel keep
Me aafe from danger while I sleep."

128 A NOTE ON rnE " WHITE PATEEKOSTER. '

Halliwcll BUggestB that the two last lines were imitated from the fol-
lowing in Bishop Kerr's Evening Hymn :^

ilest gaordiaii, while I sleep,
'Mai Bt&tion uear me keep."

But, if there was any imitatioa in the caae, it was the bishop who
copied from the folk-Tbymer, not the folk-rhymer who copied from
the biBhop.

Sciniewhat analogous with the above is a qnatraiii I have known
since my childhood, but which I do Dot remember to have seen in

print :^

" I laj me down to rest me.

And pray the Lord U> bless me.

If I should sleep no more to wake,

I praj the Lord my bodI to take."

The Petite Patenotre Blanche still lingers in France under a variety

of shapes. One versiou was written down as late as 1672 from the

mouth of an old woman named Catherine Bastiea, an inhabilant of the

department of the Loire. It was afterwards communicated to Me'lii-

ne, from which interesting publication I borrow it : —

" Ji'sns m'ondort,

1 trfpassc, mande man corps,

I trepaase, maude moa ame,

I vis, mande mon usprit.
(Jc) prcudB les anges pour mes amis,
Lo boD dica pour moo pere.
Lb Saiato Vierge ponr ma niSra ;
Baint Louia do Gonzaqne,
Anx qnaCre coins de ma chambre,
Anx qnatre coias do mon lit ;

Seigneur, i Thenre de ma mort."

Quenot, in his " Statisqut de la Ckarenle " (1818), gives the sub-
cined :—

" Dioa I'a faite, je la dit ;
J'ai tronve quatre angcB eoothuii dana uion lit ;
Deux a la C^, denx aux pieds.
Kt le boa Siea an milieu.

A NOTE ON THE " WHITE PATEENOSTER."

Da quoi pnia-je a?

■oir penr ?

LebouDieuestm

on p?re,

La Vierga ma

. mfire.

Les Sainta me

sfr^rea,

Les Sain tea m

esstenri

Lo bon Dien m'n, dit :

L^TB-toi, conchc-toi,

No erf

line ricn ; le fen, I'orage, et la

, temp€te

Ne pcnsent rii

;n contr

etoi.

Saint Jean, Saint Marc, Saint Lnc,

et Saint Matthieu,

Qci mettez les

ames er

irepoa.

Mettei(-r la mi

enne ei :

Dien yent."

In Provence many a worthy oountrywc
priero doou soir : —

An liech do dioa
Me conche ion,

. rept:ats each night this

Uno

Tres ea peds,

Qofttro an capet i (capat,=t^te,
Boaenn Mero es an mitatl
bianco o. la man,"

The white rose borne by the Good Mother ia a pretty and charac-
teristic interpolation peculiar to flowery Provence. In the conclusion
of the prayer the Boueno Mero tells whosoever recites it, to have no
fear of dog or wolf, or wandering stomi, or running water, or shining
fire, or any evil folk. M, Damasp Arbaud, the late collector of Pro-
venpal songs, got together a number of other devotional fragments that
may be regarded as offshoots from the parent stem. St. Joseph,
" Nourricier de diou," is asked to preserve the supplicant from sudden
death, "et de I'infer et de sea flam moa," St. Aon, " mero-grand de
Jesus-Christ," is prayed to teach the way to Paradise. To St. Denis a
very practical petition is .

boaen sens, ma boueno re

Another verse points distinctly to a desire for protection against
witchcraft. The Proven^aux, bj'-the-by, are of opinion that the
Angelus was instituted to scare away any ill-conditioned aprit^s that
may be tempted out by the approach of night-fall.

TOL. II, K

130

l NOTE ON THE " WHITE PATERNOSTEE.

In Germany the guardian eaints are dispensed with, but the angela
are retained in force. I am indebted to my friend Mr. C, G. Leland _
(" Hans Breitmann " ) for a translation of the most popular Gerraai
even-Bong : —

" Fonrteon ungela in a. bund
?iTer7 night around me stand.
Two to my loft hand.

Two to my right,
Who watch me over

Bj day and night (
Two at mj head.

Two at my feet.
To goard my alumber,

Soft and sweet g
Two to wake me

At break of day.
When night and darkness

Pass away }
Two to cover me

Waim and nice,
And two to lead mo

To Paradise."

Passing on to Italy, we find an embarrassing abundance of fblk-
prayers framed afler the self-same model. The repose of the Venetian
is under the charge of the Perfect Angel, the Ange! of God, St.
Bartholomew, the Blessed Mother, St. Elizabeth, the four Evange-
lists, and St. John the Baptist. Venetian children are taught to
say : " I go to bed ; I know not if I shall arise. Thou Lord, who
kuowest, keep good watch over me. Before my soul separates
from my body, give me help and good comfort. In the Name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost : so be it. Bless my heart and
my soul I " The Venetians also have a " Paternoster piohenin " and
a " Paternoster graade," both of which are, in their existing form, little
else than nonsense verses. The native of the Marches goes to his i-est
accompanied by our Lord, the Madonna, the four Evangelists, Vangelo
pirfetto, four greater angels, and three others — one at the foot,
one at the head, one in the middle. The Tuscan, like the Ger-
man, has only angela around him : of these he hoa seven— one at

A NOTE ON THE " WHITE PATEEN08TEB,*'

131

the head, one at the foot, two at the sides, one to covar him, one to
walch hira, and one to bear him to Paradise. The Sicilian says : " I
]ay nie down in this bed, with Jesus on ray breast. I sleep and He
watches. In this bed where I am laid, five saints I find ; two at tha
head, two at the feet, in the middle is St. Michael," Among the
Greek-speaking populations of South Italy the well-worn theme is
treated with tender grace in a little song that serves either for lullaby
or child's prayer — prayer in the popular sense, meaning any devotional
thought or act, and not necessarily a supplication.

" In my little bed I lio down to sleep,
I lie down with my mother Mary ;
The mother Mary goes away,
And she leaves me Christ for company."

But perhaps the best espresaion of the belief in the divine gnardiar
hf sleep is that given to it by an ancient Sardinian poet : —
" Sn letto meo est do battor tantoncs,
Et battor anghelos si bie ponen ;
Daoa in pes, et duos in cabitta,
Nostra Segnora a coatoiu m'iata.
E a me narat : Dormi e reposa.
No hapaa panra do mala cosa,
No hapas panra de mala fine

S. Anghtlu Serafine,

S. Angheln Biancu,

S. Ispirida Saotu,

Sb Vigine Maria
Tote Slant in compagnia mea.

Angheln de Den,

Cnatodia meo,

Costa nott' illmniname 1
Gnarda e difende a me
Ca BO mi incommando a Tie."

" My had has four comers, and fonr angels stand by it. Two at the foot, and
two at the head ; Onr Lady is bewde me. And to mo she aaya ; Sleep and
repose. Have no fear of evil things, have no fear of an evil end. The angel
Serafine, the angel Blanche, the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary— all ara here to
keep me company. Angel of God, Thou my Gnardian, illuminate mo this night.
Watch and defend mo, for I commend myself to Thee."— (Qnoled from Dr.
Corbettft'a " Sardrgaa e Coraica."

•FITl! '• WRITF Pi

A NOTE ON THE "WHITE PATBEKOBTBB."

I come now to my last specimen — a Spanish veree, so like the above J
that it would be Enperfluous to give it a separate traiiBlation. It v
sent to me a year ago by a friend who was at that time in Iho Royal
College of Saota Ysabel, at Madrid.

" Qaatro {lirODdelitas

Tieae lai cama ;
Qaatro sngelitoB

Me la n<]ompana.
La Madre do Bios

Estn enmedio
Dicendome :

Daotme y reposa
Qne ao te snceilera

Kiagnna mala cosa.

It seems likely that not a few of the variants cited ia this note have
been handed down orally from a dat« much earlier than that of the
publication of the Enchiridion. The Paternosire Blanche is apparently
a sort of magic-working parody of an older Latin prayer, of which the
original tale may yet be brought to light. Till then, we cannot say
which of the surviving versions may lay claim to spniority. What ia
plain is, that the people have clung to their commoa motif with a
tenacity that proves them to have found in it an inexhaustible source
of consolatioa and re-asaurance.

It is worth remarking how certain English lettered compositions
have become truly popular in consequence of their introducing the
same leading idea. A dignitary of the Church of England once asked
an old woman — who dwelt ulone without chick or child— whether she
said her prayers. " Oh I yes," was the reply. " I say every nigbt of^

life;

■' Hush, my babe, He still ia sltunber.
Holy Angela gnard tb; bed," Sec.

A NOTE ON THE " WHITE PATERNOSTER.

133

Since writing the above, my attention has been called to a
popular Btory which, though it treats of the veritable Paternoater, and
not of the " White" one, may still be mentioned here as affording
another instance of the important class of folk-songs and tales that
bear evidence of a semi-ecclesiastical origin. The story relates to the
method by which a well-to-do, somewhat avaricious, and not too
intelligent, countryman is taught to say the Lord's Prayer. The man
confesses to the parish priest his inability to get the words by heart,
and, on hearing the very serious consequences that will result upon
his failing to do so, he offers any rBCompense provided they are fixed
in his memory. The priest answers that he will do what is required
of him, but that iirst of all the countryman must agree to lend forty
poor neighbours as much corn as they can carry away, oa the con-
dition that he will be paid back twice its value at harvest time. The
couQtrynian thinks that the apeonlation promises well, and readily
consents to the terms. Thereupon the priest goes out into the high-
way and assembles forty poor men — he has no difficulty in finding
them, for there is a scarcity throughout all the land. Then he warns
them what they shall say, and sends them to the house of the country-
man. The latter asks their names, and the first (following the priest's
instructions) says, he is called Pater, the second Noster, the third
Qui €s in cells, the fourth and fifth Sanctijicetiir and Nomen Tutim,
and so on right down to Amen. By-and-bye the day of payment
comes round, but the priest absolutely declines to refund a farthing
of what is owing. The indignant creditor takes the case before the
magistrate, to whom the priest, when put on his defence, simply says,
" This man could not get by heart hia Paternoster, and offered to give
me anything so that he might learn it ; now let him repeat the names
of the persons who borrowed hia com." The countryman forthwith
repeats the names one by one, and each in its proper order. He is
then triumphantly informed that he has said the whole prayer, and
the magistrate bids him go home and be thankful. He does go home,
but apparently is the reverse of thankful, as he assures his wife that
while he lives he will " never trust priest again," Such is an outline
of the story, of which an English rhymed transcript is preserved,

136 SOME FOLK-LOKE FKOM CEAUCEH.

ficatione of m; previous chronological arrangements of the poems. Of
course I have here confined myself to folk-lorej but it will I trust be
gratifying to the mombera of the Society to learn that work done for
them does not necessarily end with them. I ehoidd add that all
references are made to volume and page of Bell's edition, 8 vols, as
issueit by (irifSii and Co. This is not because I regard it as the best,
but because all my MS. notes on Chaucer are made with reference to
it. Cor it was the best when most of mj work was done, years before
Dr. Morris's edition appeared, and it does not seem worth while to alter
all these references until an edition appears with the tales in a proper
arrangement and the poems in chronological order. NeYertheless,
wherever I had references to book and line at hand at the moment,
I have inserted them in addition between parentheses.

PROVERBS.

It is hard to draw a line as to these, so aa to determine what are

pithy sayings of Chaucer's own and what are genuine folk-words which

ought to he extracted here. I have tried to err on the side of omission

rather than risk inserting what might mislead future investigators.

Hyt IB not b1 goliie that glaretli.

Ilmtsc efFaine (lib. i. 1. 272), vi. 202,
IjOO. ryeht aa shu hath done, now she
Wol do eftsooneB hnrilely.
fFrom the Latin

Cras potemnt Gcri tarpia, sicnt herL]

IMd. (1. 359), vi. 206.
To make tlie beard =deceiTe.

IMd. (lib. ii 1. 181), vi. 215.

Reevei Idle, i. 226.

Wife of Batln Frologne, ii. 66
For ye be lyke the swynt catte
l^at wolde have flaah: bat woatow whatte ?
He wolde nothing wete his clowes.

Ibid. (lib. iii. 1. G9,?), vi. 251.
For alio mote outc ofhcr Isle or rathe,
AUe the sheves in the lathe.

iSfrf. (lib. iii. 1.1050), ri. 262.

SOME FOLK-LOBE FROM CHAUCEB. 137

For hyt is sejd men makjn oft a jerd
With which the maker is himself ybetyn,
In sundry maner us thes wise men tretyn.

Troyhis and Oryseyde (lib. i. st. 106), y. 43.

The wrecche is dede, the devil have his bonis.

Ihid. (St. 115), Y. 45.

A blynd man cannot juggyn wele in he wis.

Ibid, (proem to lib. ii. st. 3), y. 55.

For every wighte that to Rome went
Holt not o pathe, ne alwey o manere.

Ihid. (St. 6), Y. 66.

For thus men seyn eche cuntre hath his lawis.

Ihid. (lib. ii. st. 6), y. 56.

Let this proverbe a lore unto yow be,

" To late I was ware," quod bewte, " whan it past,

And eld dauntith daunger at the last."

Ibid, (lib. ii. st. 50), v. 69.

Ho that nothing undirtakith
Nothing acheveth, be hit leve or dere.

lUd. (Ub. ii. St. 109), v. 84.

Thei spekyn mych but thei bent never his bow.

Ibid, (lib. ii. st. 116), v. 86. "

And forthi, who that hath an hede of verre.
Fro caste of stonys ware hjrm in the werre.

Ibid, (lib. ii. st. 117), v. 86.

Forwhy men seyn impressions lyght
Full redy bene ay lightly to the flight.

Ibid, (Ub. ii. st. 172), v. 99.

Felt the iryn hote, and he gan to smyte.

Ibid, (lib. ii. st. 178), v. 101.

For hym men demeth hoot that men se swete.

lUd. (lib. ii. St. 214), v. 109.

These wise clerkis that ben dede
Han ever this proverbid to us yonge.
The first vertu to kepe wel the tonge.

Ibid, (lib. ill. st. 36), v. 126.

Or caste al the grewel in the fire.

Ibid. (lib. iu. st. 95), v. 140.

And makyn him a howe above a calle.

Ibid. (lib. iii. st. 104), v. 143.

138 SOME FOLK-LOBE FBOM CHAUOEB.

The harme is don, and farewel feldyfare.

Ihid, (lib. iii. st. 116), T. 145.

Ye, hasyl wodis shakjn.

Ibid. (Ub. iii. st. 121), v. 146; of. (Ub. y. Bt
73), V. 264.

Thus sejde here and howne.

Ibid Gib. iT. St. 26), v. 187.

Nettle in dokke out.

[This is usually < dock in nettle oat.']
Ibid. (lib. iy. st. 62), t. 196.

Ek wonder last but nine njght nevere in towne.

Ibid. (lib. iv. st. 80), t. 200.

Ful of te a byworde here I seye.
That rooteles mot grene soone deye.

Ibid. (lib. iv. st. 106), v. 206.

Men seyne that fal harde it is
The wolfe ful and the wether hoole to have.
This is to seyn, that men fal oft, ywis.
Moot spenden parte the remenaante for to save.

Ibid. (lib. iv. st. 193), v. 226.

For thas men seith that oon thynketh the here,

Bat al another thynketh the ledere ;

Yoar sire is wis, and seyde is, oat of drede,

Men may the wise oatrenne and noaght oatrede.

It is fall hard to halten anespied,

Bifor a crepal, for he kan the craft.

Ibid. (lib. iv. St. 206), v. 228.

For hastif man ne wantethe never care.

lUd. (lib. iv. St. 220), v. 232.

As he that koathe moore than the crede.

Ibid. (lib. V. St. 13), v. 240; cf. MUUrt
Tale, p. 202.

I have herde seyde ek, tymes twyes twelve,

He is a foole that wol for}'ete hyme selve.

Ibid. (lib. V. St. 14), v. 240.

Bat al to late cometh the lataarye,
When men the cors anto the grave carye.

Ibid. (lib. V. St. 106), vi. 13.

He that noaght nassayeth noaght nacheveth.

Ibid. (lib. V. St. 112), vi. 14.

Swich as men clepe * a word with two visages.'

Ibid. (Ub. v. st 129), vi. 18.

SOME FOLK-LOBE FBOM OHAUCEB. 139

From hasel woode ther jolye Robin pleyde,
Shal come al that thow abydest here !
Ye, fanirel al the snowgh of feme yere.

Ibid, (lib. V. St. 168), ri. 28 ; of. (Ub.
V. St. 73), Yi. 264.

A trewe man, withouten drede,
Hath nat to parten with a theyes dede.

Good Women, Prol (1. ^44), viiL 60.

Fite renneth soone in gentil herte.

IHd. Prol, (1. 482), yiii. 61 ; Knig%t% TaU,

i. 146; Sqmre^ Tale, ii. 217.

[Compare : Gentil hert is fulfild of pite.

Moffi of Lowes Tale, ii. 28.]

Wrie the glede and hotter is the fire.

lUd, ThUhe, (1. 30), viii. 68.

Bele chere flonrith, but it wil not seede.

IHd. Anelyda, vi. 189.

He that dronke is as a mows. . •

Knightes Tale, i. 129.

For soth is seyde, goon fol many yeres.

That feld hath eyen and the woode hath eeres.

[Compare : Campus habet lumen, et habet nemus auris acumen.]

lUd, i. 137.

Shapen was my deth erst than my scherte.

IHd, i. 138.

[Compare : Syn firste day that shapen was my sherte.
Or by the f atale sustren hadde my dome.

Good Women, Tperm/ygtre (1. 68), viii. 123.]

He may go pypen in an ivy leef .

IMd, i. 147; Troylvs, (lib. v. 1. 206), vi. 37.

Men may the eelde at-ren, but nat at-rede.

Ibid, i. 168.

Therf or bihoveth him a ful long spoon
That schal ete with a feend.

Squires Tale, ii. 221.

He hastith wel that wisely can abyde; and in wikked haste is no profyt.

Melibevs, iii. 136.

He that alle dispj^seth^ saith the book, alle displeseth.

Ibid, 137.

The proverbe saith he that moche embrasith destreineth litel.

IHd. 147.

140 SOME FOLK-LOBB PROM CHAUCEB.

Theproverbe Baith, that for to do aynne UuntnnjBch.bdtcerteEfortoporGG-
vere longe in sjnne ia werlt ot the devjl.

3Ielil>eHi;'ni. 15Q.
Tber Is an olde proTerbu that soith, the goodaesae that tbon moist do this
dnj ahf de not ne delsje it noaght nnto to morwe.
Jbid. iii. 177.
And what man bath of frendss the fortnne,
Mishap wil make hetn onemj'es, I geEse;
This prorerbe is fnl aothe and fni comnne,

Manilla tale, ui. 195.
His porchaco was bettor than hia reiit«.

eeneral Peeloffui- (Friar), i. 89.
To set a miMi's cap or howe=to cheat; [cf. to glaze hia howe,

Treylmi (lib. i». at. 67, \. 2B3i] Ibid (Manciple), i. 101;
MUUrt PMogae, i. 189; Meefes Prologve, i. 218,
Scbal bercD him on bond the cow is wood.

PFBlogui: to Wyfof Bailie, ii. 51.
Nfl noon so gray a gooa goth in the lake,
As sajeat thoa, wol be withonten make.

Ibid. ii. 63.
Deceipt, wepjog, apynnyng, God hath give
To wjmmen ky:ide)j whil thay may ly ve.
[Compare ; Fallere, flere, nere, dedit Deus in moliere.]
Ibid. ii. 66.
Who so first Cometh to the mylle, first grynt.
[Compare : Qui premier vient an monlin premier doit mouldre.]
Ibid. ii. SB.
For al BO aiker aa cold engendrith hajl,
A likorons month most have a licorons tail.
Hid. ii. 58.

Theftonria
The bran, a

goon, ther
B I best tan

nia no moi
JMd. ii.

I made b'"i of the same woods a i
Ih!d. ii.

Tn his own«

1 greea I made him fri

Jliid. ii. 59.
Greet prea at market makith deer chaffare.
And too greet cbep ia holden at lit«l pria.

Ibid. ii. GO.
Who that bnyldeth bis boas al of salwes,
And ptiketh his biynde bora over the falwea.

SOME FOLK-LOBE FROM CHAUGEB. 141

And snffrith his wyf to go seken halwes,
Is worthy to be honged on the galwes.

Ibid, ii. 66.

To pnt an ape in ones hood=to cheat.

/ noressea Prolog'uey iii. 106.

I woot best wher wiyngith me my scho.

Marchaundes Tale, ii. 171.

Passe oyer is an ease.

Ibid. ii. 189.

Unbokeled is the male.

Millers Prologiie, i. 188.

Fal soth is this proverbe, it is no Ije,
Men seyn right thns alway, the ney slje
Maketh the ferre leef to be loth.

[Compare : An olde sawe is who that sljghe,
Li place wher he may be nyghe,
He maketh the feere leef loth.

Oower, Conf, Amant. iii. 58. ]
MUler8 Tale, i. 201.

He fond nowthir to selle,

No breed ne ale.

Ibid, i. 215.

Of a sowter a schipman or a leche.

[Compare : Ex sntore medicns (Fhcedrns)
Ex sntore nanclems (Pynson).]

Beeves Prologiie, i. 218.

Sche was as deyne as water in a dich.

Heeves Tale, i. 221.

Unhardy is nnsely, as men saith.

Ibid, i. 231.

And thereto this proverbe is seyd fol soth,
He thar nat weene wel that eyyl doth.

Ibid. i. 234.

Soth play qnad play as the Flemyng saith.

[Compare : Soth bonrde is no boarde.

Sir John Sdrringtan.'}
Cokes Prologue, i. 236.

A proYerbe that saith this same word,
Wel bette is roten appnl ont of hord,
Than that it rote al the remenannt.

Cokes Tale, i. 237.

Thing that is overdon it wil nonght preve
Aright, as clerkes sein, it is a rice.

142 Some foi,k-loiie fuom chaucbb.

Compare: No qniiJ nimis.]

Ckanounel Yemnnacg Friilogue, ii
Pmfred Bcrrise Stvnketh, as witnessen these olde wise.

Ibid. iii. 12.
Ye ben ne bolde as ia Bajurd tbc bljndo.
That blnndreth forth, sod peril casteth noon.

Ibid. iii. 53.
Bet than nerer ia late.

Ibid.
Dun is in the rajre.

Maneiplen Pi-ulngan, iii. 230; Maneiplet Tale, ii
The Flemjiig snith, and lere it if the lest,
That litil jangling canseth raochil rest.

ManeipUi Tale, iii. 248.
Neither knew I kirke lie sejat.

Chaweret Dream (L i, 305), vi. 9J
Brent child of fier hath mjch drede.

Biiie, »ii. 72.
Thia have I herd ofle in seijng,
That man maj far no danntyng
Make a sperhanke of a bosarde.

Ibid. »ii. 137
For tweyne in nombre is bet than thte.
In every connselle and aecre.

Jbld. Tii, 178
A foulea belle ia Boon range.

Ibid, vii, 178.
Go, farewell feldfare.

IJiid. vii. 186.
For freend in ronrt aj better is
Then peny in pnrs, certis.
[Compare: 3 Hen. IV. Act. v. Sc. 1. 1. 34,]

Ibid. vii. 187.
Habite ne matith neithir monk ne feere.
[Compare : Cocnilns non facit monachnm.}

Ibid. vii. 209.

DREAMS.
Dreams play so important a part ia Chaucer's writings as to d
a Beparate notice. Nearly every poem of his which has a personal
reference to himself or his patrons is written under the form of a dream.
1. The Eomaunt of the Rose; 2. Chaucer's dream; 3. The death of
the Duchesa ; i. The House of Fame; 5. The Assembly of Birds;

SOME FOLK-LOltE FKOM CHAUCER. 143

6. The Legend of Good Women — are all dreams. In the Eose [? written

■e deceitful, but some dreams are

Macrnbins (on Cicero). You

: dreams are prophetic,

II you of the Kissing of the Rose,

e May when I was in my 20th

1 1363], he 3ay3, " Many say dreams a
true ; witness the dream of Scipio in
may call me a foni for it, hut I bohe?
especially this which I am going ti
or the Art of Love, which I dreamed o
year, five years ago " [? 1356]. In the lie of Ladies he says: " One
May thinking on my lady I lay in a lodge in a forest after hunting
[at Windsor], and dreamed ' with mind of knowledge-like making.' I
believe I really saw what I dreamed, and that I was taken to the place
hy some good spirit. It was no dream, hut a signer signification of facts."
In The Duchess Chancer falls asleep in May after reading the story of
Ceyx and Alcyone. Here, too, he refers to Scipio'a dream as told
hy Maerobius; he also dreams of birds that sing solemn service, and
mentions Pharaoh's dream. In the House of Fame he gives a fuller
statement of his views. Some are oracles and revelations, others are
phantoms and " never come." The canses may be the " complexion "
of the dreamer, weakness of brain from fasting, illness, distress, study,
melancholy, love, inspiration by spirits, or prophetic power of the soul,
when not darkened by the flesh as in waking hours. This dream, nn-
like the preceding, as happening in the winter on 10 December, is like
the preceding, in mentioning (vj. 210) Pharaoh, Scipio, &c. In the
Parlement of Fowls Chaucer falls asleep reading a book, as in the
Duchess; the book is " TolUus of the dream of Scipio," so often men-
tioned by him. In his dream Scipio guides him as Virgil does Dante;
he dreams of birds that sing on Valentine's day. In the Good Women
Chaucer hears the birds sing praises of St. Valentine in May while he
is awake; he sleeps in a " harbour," and dreams of Alceste, &c. This
mnst be in May 1386. In this poem Dido's dream is referred to (viii.
86); also the ominous owl, the prophet of woe {viii, 112); andinthe
legend of Hypermnestra, the dream of Egisthua (viii. 124). In all these
poems a regular sequence can be traced if they be read chronologically j
in the references to May, to Scipio's dream, to Valentine's day, to the
Bong of birds, to the causes of dreaming, &c. &c. But this could only
be properly displayed in a commentary on the passages referred to.

144

SOME FOLK-LOBE FBOM CHAUCEB.

In Troylufl there are many references to droams. Cryseide has
dreamed tlirice of Pandarua (v. 58). " May it torn to good 1 " saya
she. Again (v. 88) she dreams that a white eagle exchanges hearts
with her. Troyhis too has dreams and omens — the owl Ascaphilo shrieks
after him two nights. And Pandarus gives his opinions on the matter
as Chaucer does in the House of Fame. " They mean nothing,"
says he, "they proceed of melancholy. Priests say they are revelations;
doctors say, they are caused by complexions or fasting ; others say, they
arise from contemplation, or seasons, or the time of the moon, but
dreams and augury are merely old wives' tales " {v. 249). Nevertheless
Troylns has true dreams of the boar Biomed (vi. 40, 47), and Chancer
had not yet adopted Pandar's scepticism. In the Canterbury Tales the
notices of dreams are much fewer. In the Squire's Tale Canace has
a vision (ii. 214); in the Monk's (iii. 212) Cresus' dream is given:
bnt in the Nun's Priest's we have Chaucer's fnllest statement on the
matter. Chanticleer dreams of the fox, but Portelet tells him dreams
are vanity engendered of repletions, complexions, abundant humours; the
red fox, for instance, by abundance of red choler, block boars by abund-
ance of melancholy, and bids him "take a laxative '' and believe in Cato,
But Chanticleer answers with the well-known case, given by Cicero,
the dreams of Kenelm, Scipio, Daniel, Joseph, Pharaoh, Cresus,
Andromache, and gets the best of the argttment. His own dream is a
true one. In the Miller's Tale (i. 211) Abaolon's mouth itches (a
sign of kissing at least) and he dreams of feasting. In the Sumner's
tale the Friar says (falsely) that he saw the wife's child home to bliss
in a vision (ii. 109). In the Prologue to the same tale the vision of a
friar is given (taken from Romaunt of the Rose) as to the abode of
friary in hell (ii, 102); and finally in the Prologue to the Wife of Bath
we find that she too tells lies as to her dream, tolling her suitor she
had dreamed of him and of blood, which betokened gold, when she had
not. On the whole it seems that Chaucer believed in prophetic dreams
granted by special revelation, bnt not in oneiromancy as applied to
ordinary dreams.

80M£ FOLK-LOBE FBOAI OHAUCEB. 145

ASTROLOGY AND ALCHEMY.

For there nys planete in firmament
Ne in ayre ne in erthe noon element
That they ne yive me a yift echone
Of wepynge whanne I am alone.

Book of the Dtiohess, vL 168.

This is the earliest allusion to astrology in Chaucer. [1369].
The nine speris. — Assembly oflbules (at. 9) iy. 190.

These are: —

Primum Mobile 9
Fixt stars 8

1 Saturn 7

2 Jupiter 6
• 3 Mars 5

4 Sun 4

5 Venus 3

6 Mercury 2

7 Moon 1

Chaucer uses the reckoning on the right hand in Troylus and
Cryseyde (Proem to lib. iii. st. 1), v. 116.

hlisfall light of which the hemes clere
Adomith all the thrid heyyn faire I
O Sonnys leef, o Joyis doghtir dere.

Venus is here in the third sphere. So in (lib. v. st. 259) vi. 50,

His light gofit fol hlisfolly is wente

Up to the holnghnesse of the seventhe spere.

Saturn's sphere is indicated as furthest from the earth; and in the
Good Women (Philomene) viii. 112, the innermost circle is called ** the
firste heven;" but in the Complaint of Mars (st, 5) viii. 30, Mars
is called " the thridde heven*s lord; " and in L 'Envoy a Scogan (st. 2)
viii. 146, the sphere of Venus is called " the fyft sercle." In these

VOL. II. L

I4B 80MB FOLK-LORE TEOM CnAUCER.

inNtnnces Chnncer nsee the or^er given on the left in the list above.
This HbotTs thitt Chaucer changed his reckoning after writing tlie
Legend of Good Women.

Whan PbcliuB clothe his righCe bemjs sprede
Right in the while Bnlle, so it bytyi
As I sball syog: on Majes day the thrid.

Tropin) (iib. ii. St. 1) y. 57.

The 3un was then in the 22nd degree of Taurns.

And cast, and knew in good plyte was tho Mone
To do TiBge.

Ibid. (lib. ii. at. 4), t. 37.
And &lso blisfoi Venus, wol arajed,
Sate in her seventh hous of Hevyn tiio,
DiapoByd wele, and with aspact pacyayed
To helpe sely Troylns of his wo:
And soth to soye, she naa not hia fo
To Troylns, in hia nativjte.

lljid. (lib. ii. Bt SI) V, 79.

Tlie seventh house is Libra. A planetwaa atrongorin its own house
than in any other.

The bente Mono with her homys pals,
Saturn and Jovia in Cancro joynad were,
That niadynsnch a reyne fro hevyn aTBil, lie.

Ibid. V, 137.

The Moon is an airy sign, her own mansion: Saturn and Jupiior^
whose mansions are watery, are in conjunction with her. Hence there
will bo rain. Planets in conjunction are most powerfnl.

And if I had, Venns tnl of mirtho I

ABpectes bad of Mara or of Satume,

Or thou cnmbrid, or lot were in my birthc, &c.

Ibid. V. 140.

Explained by Astrolabie, part ii. sect. 4. " Vit soin these Astrologiena
that the assendent and eke the lord of the assondent may be shapen for to
bo forttinat or infortunat, as thus a fortunat assendent clepen they whan

SOME FOLK-LORE FllOM CHAUCER. 147

that no wykked planet, as Saturne or Mars, or elles the tail of the
dragoun is in hows of the assendent, ne that no wikked planet have
noil aspecte of enemyte upon the assendejit, but they wol caste that
thei have a fortunat planete in hir assendent and yit in his felicite, and
than scy they that it is wel; fortherover, they seyn that the infortunyng
of an assendent is the contrarie of thise f orseide thinges ; the lord of
the assendent sey they that he is fortunat whan he is in god place fro
the assendent, as in angle, or in a succedent whereas he is in his dignite
and consorted with frendly aspectys of planetes and [wel] resceived, and
ek that he may sen the assendent, and that he be not retrograd ne
combust ne ioigned with no shrewe in the same signe, ne that he be nat
is his desencioun, ne joigned with no planete on his discencioun, ne
have upon him non aspecte infortunat, and than sey they that he is
wel. Natheles theise ben observauncez of iudicial matiere and rytes
of paiens, in which my spirit ne hath no faith, ne no knowyng of hir
horoscopum" — Compare Troylus (lib. iv. st. 103), v. 205.

Estward roos to hym that cowde it knowe,

Fortnna maior.

Ibid. (lib. iii. st. 196), Y. 165.

Fortuna major is Jupiter. Speght.

For thongh that Yemis yaf hire grete beante,
With Jubiter componiied so was she,
That conscience, tronthe, and drede of shame.
And of hire wyfhode for to kepe hire name,
This thoghte hire was felicite as here.
And rede Mars was that iyme of the yere
So feble that his malice ys him rafte;
Eepressed hath Venus hys cruel licrafte.
And what with Venus and other oppressyoun
Of houses, Mars his yenyme ys adoun,
That Ypermystre dar not handel a knyf
In malyce, thongh she shulde lese hire lyf .
But natheles, as heven gan thoo tnme,
To badde aspectes hath she of Saturne,
That made hire to dye in prisoun.

Good Women. Ypermystre (1. 23), viii. 120.

The aspects were distances of 0° conjmiction, 60° sextile, 90° quartile,
120° trine, 180° opposition. Quartile and opposition were malign;

148

SOME ia)LK-LOUK fKOM CUAUCER.

trine and sextile, benig:n; conjunction, imliffcrent. Mara has inflaenoe
01) imprisonmont, not Saturn; but Saturn Lus rulo ou life and buildings,
which is near enough for. astrology. Venus, of course, rules love ;
Jupiter, wishes and dress; Mars, war and hatred.

(J firsto meving cmel firmament.

With thi diarnal atrongh tlint crowdest a.j,

Aiiil horleat aJ fro est to occiiient.

That natorell; wold bold anotlior way ;

Thyn crowdyug setto the hevon in sach array

At the bygynnyng of this fiera tiaga,

Tbut cmel Marts hath elayn this marriage.

IcfortoDat ascendent lortaoQB,
Of which the lordcB helplesa fallo, alias I
Ont of his angle into the dorkeat hona.

t Uariz Attezere I as in thia caaa ;

1 feble Moodc I unhappy been thi paas.
Thaa knottest the ther tboa art not received ;
Ther thon were wel, for thennea artow woyreil.

Man. of Law (1.197), ii. 16.

" First moving" ia the prtmtim nwhile which resolved from west to
east, carrying all the inner spheres with it; the " natural" motion of
nil the interior spheres being from east to west.

Tlie " tortuous" signs rise in less than two houses; they are obedient
to the other signs. Of them Aries js the mansion of Mors. The
" angle" is the first house, of which Mars was lord ; he had passed
from this into the seventh house, which is a cadent, or " derkest "
house; in other words, Mars had just set, Atazir is Spanisii- Arabic
for influence. The last two lines mean, Thon goost into a conjunction
where thou hast no benign aspect, and leavest thy former friendly
position.

Of vlage ia ther n'
Nought whan a ro

Q eleccionn,

Q ia of a birthe Uknowe ?
Ibid. (Lil4), ii. 17.

The time for travelling was when the moon was in a mobile sign. A
roote of a birthe is a primary datum from which a horoscope can bo
calculated— t. e., the exact time (and place) at which birth took pluee.

SOME FOLK-LORE FROM CnAUCER. 149

Chaucer in thia same talc Buys thftt " the death of OTcry man is written
in the stara clearer than glass," if we could but read it.

Som wikke aspect or dlspoeicionn

Of Sntnme, by sam conHtellacioim

Hath guTon us this, althongh wo hadde it awomi

So stood tlie hereo whan that we were bom,

£n!ght (1. 229), i. 123.

Saturn, a baleful planet, was in power at my birth;

Bnt I maate be in prisanii through Satorne, . . .
Aod Venaa sleetb me on that other ajdo.

Ibid. (1.470), i. 131.
Bee above for Saturn as causing imprisonment.
That oon Fnello, that othnr Rabins.

I^id. i. 156.

Mars retrograde and MarB direct,

Venna' hour. Sec.

Ibid. i. 161, 162, 165.

The following rule is simple. To find to what planet any honr of a
given day of the week is consecrated, divide the hour-number by seven
and count the remainder, beginning with the planet to whom the day
belongs, in the following order (that of the spheres): 1, Saturn; 2,
Jupiter; 3, Mars; i, Bun; 5, Venus; 6, Mercury; 7, Moon. Thus the
23rd hour of Sunday is sacred to Venus, for 23-;-7 gives 2 remainder
—I.e., 1, Sol; 2, Venus, Palamon reaches the temple of Venus in the
23rd hour, but starts in the 22nd. In the third honr from his starting
— I. e,, on the first hour on Monday — Emily goes to Diana's temple in
a Moon-hour; and in the next hour of Mars — i.e., in the fourth hour
on Monday — Arcite visits the temple of Mars.

In the Knight's tale, i. 1 68, we have a fuller list of Saturn's influences
than Chaucer has given ua for any other planet. I do not quote the
passage. I want to send readers to Chaucer, not to take his place;
but I give a list of them. 1, Drowning ; 2, Prison ; 3, Strangulation
4, EebelHon; 5, Discontent; 6,PoiBoning; 7, Vengeance (when inLeo)
8, Bnin of buildings; 9, Cold malaiiies (ague, &c ); 10, Treason; II,
Deceit; 12, Pestilence.

].5y

SOME FOLK-LORE FROM CIIAUOER.

In the Miller's ta!o the poor scholar know "a certain of conclusionB,"
tlio very phrase that Chancer uses in his Astrolabie when he says whttt^
he parpoBCB to teach little Lewis j hence the tale is probably not fu \
from 1391 in date. The scholar uses his almagest (Ptolemy's ^eyoX^ I
avvTaln), his astrolabie, on which inetniment Chaucer wrotfl a treatise,
and his angrim (algorithm) stones for nnraeration. He prophecies
that there shall he rain on Monday at quarter night (Ifith honr
beginning, Saturn's hour), but the rain does not come; and here we have
positive proof that Chaucer had given up whatever faith in astrology' J
ha had in earlier life. This is confirmed by his own statement in
Astrolabie, ii. i, 36, and I have little doubt that his study in preparing
that treatise was the cause of his change of belief.

In the Man of Law's Prologue wo find Chaucer's astronomical
knowledge clearly displayed ; ho knows how to calculate the hour from
the length of shadows, and finds it 10 a.m. on 18 April, 1388, whan |
the sun's altitude is 45". Ail this ia clearly explained by Mr. Brae.
But the explanation he gives as to how ''the host saw that the bright
suu had run the arc of his artificial day the fourth part, of Lalf-au-
hour and more " is not so clear. He says Chaucer confused the sun's
ozimuthal arc with his altitude. Surely a very strange mistake for
the host to make. It seems to me more likely that Chaucer un-
thinkingly took the snn's total arc from his rising to his highest
altitude to be 90°, as if the aun passed through the zenith, and 45°

1 MatiiiB Midniglit i

f. 9—12 P

[Le,adH after Matins

12—3 A

2 Prime 6 A.M. i

B. 3— e A

3 Tierce B A.M. i

0. C-3 A

1 Sext 12 A.M. i

d. B— 12A.

6 Nona (noon) 3 p.m. i

H. 12—3 P

6 Veepers 6 P.M. i

e. 3—6 P

7 Compline 9 p.m. i

e. 6—9 P

The fact that noon is at 12 Sses the thru bonm of noon at 12 (o 3 P.M. and not
3 to 6 P.M. By parity of reasoning, the thrao houra of prime are 3 to 6 A.m., not 6 to
9 A.U, as Mr. SkeaC takes thorn to be. The exact hoars arc those at which the
canonical services hcgin. The porioiia are those preceding, not following, the
exact hoars. The eculcsiaatit^a natarally reckoned ttic time by the next sec ~
they would have to attend, not by the one that was done with.

SOME FOLK-LOBE FROM GHAUCEB. 153

to be half this or a quarter of the day. In any case he is wrong, as
the quarter day was over at 8h. 22m.

In the description of the Doctor the astrological nature of the medi-
eval medical practice is well brought out. He is grounded in
astronomy, keeps by natural magic his patient in order, and makes him
do all things in the houses that are favourable ; he can calculate the
aspects of the constellations (fortune the ascendent of his images),
and understands the humours : viz. the white phlegm, the red blood,
the yellow gall, the black gall; phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, melan-
cholic ; he knows the temperatures, hot, cold, moist, and dry. He
knows how the phlegm produces quotidian fevers, the blood continual
fevers, choler tertian fevers, and melancholy quartan fevers. He
knows the seats of these, phlegmatic in the stomach, sanguine in the
blood, choleric in the gall, melancholic in the spleen. This description
is taken by the commentators to be ironical. They give no reason
for their supposition. Chaucer in 1888 certainly believed in astrology
as far as the Doctor does, and the rest of the description is merely a
syllabus of a first medical lecture and quite simply earnest.
• From the Wife of Bath's Prologue we learn that she derived her
hardiness from Mars, her lust from Venus.

Myn a8[ceiid]ent was Tanr and Mars therinne, ii. 64.

Taurus was Venus' mansion.

The Canon Yeoman's Prologue treats of alchemy, which is so closely
allied to astrology that this seems the fittest place to notice it. I
give a list of the Materials :

* Orpiment, yellow Arsenium-Sulphide,
Burnt bones, for Calcium-Phosphate,
Iron squames (filings).

Salt, Sodium-Chloride.

Paupere ?

Mercury crude. Quicksilver.

* „ „ sublimed.
Litharge, yellow Plumbum-Sesquioxide.

154

SOME FOLK-LOKE FROM CHAUCEE.

Bole armoniae, n magnesian ciaj.

Verdigris, Copper- Acetate.

Borax, Sodiura-B orate.

Lime unslncked, C ale ium- Oxide.

Clay, an Almuinnm-Silicate.

Saltpetre, Potasaiam-Nitrate.

Vitriol, white, Zinc-Su!phate.

„ green, Iron „ (of Mars).
„ blue. Copper „

Copper and Silver Nitrates were also termed vitriols of Venus a
the Moon.

Arsenic, Arseniam-Sesqnioxide.

■ Sal ammoniac, Aramoui ma-Chloride,

* Brimstone, Sulphur.

Salt tartar, Hydrogon-Potasaiara-Tartrate.

Alkali, Potassium- Carho Date, from wood-asheB.

Salt preparate, ? ai'tifieially made, not found native.

Oil of Tartar, a purified Potassium-Tar trate made from crude Tartar
by exposure to the air iu a moist place.

Alum, Aluminum-PotaBsium-Sulphate.

Argil, clay.

Realgar, Eed Arseninm-Sulphide.

Metal fusible, Ensible Alloy.

Of these the four asterised substances are tlio four "spirits." Chanoe
also gives the 7 planatary metals: Suu, gold; Moon, silver; Mars,'
iron ; Mercury, qnicksilver ; Bntuni, lead ; Jupiter, tin ; Venus,
copper.

Organic substances were also used. Chaucer mentions bull's gall
(for the acid), glaire of ey (albumen), ashes (for tartar), dung, urine
(for ammonia), hair (for magical incantations and for binding clay),
barm (yeast), and wort (for fermentation). Of herbs, Chaucer mentions
agrimony {eupatorium cannabinum), valerian (Valeriana officinalis),
and lunarie (boliychiuni iunaria). This last, a fern, was that used by
witches (sec Gerard's Herbalj. Chaucer calls this alchemy "clfist.a

SOME FOLK-LOBE FROM GHAUCEB. 155

HAGIOLOGY.

I have under this head collected the allusions to Saints that occur in
Chaucer's works, independently of the Fathers, allusions to whose
writings I have collected in MS. not here printed.

1. Chaucer's Dream. — The phrase, " S. John to borrow," S. John
be my security, occurs, vi. 118.

2. Duchess.— "By S. John;" vi. 178. The oaths "by the mass,"
vi. 165, and " by the rood," 1, 917, also occur.

3. Fame. — "The corseint Leonard," patron of captives, vi. 197;
"S. Mary," vi. 211; "by S. Jame," vi. 221; "S. Julian, lo, bon
hostele," patron of hospitality," vi. 226; "Peter," vi.226, 258; "by S.
Clare," vi.228; "by S. Thomas of Kent," vi. 280; " by S. Gile," vi. 282.

4. Birds.— " By S. John," iv. 208; S. Valentme, ;)awtm.

5. Orison. — Mary and John, passim.

6. Mars. — "S. John to borwe," viii. 29; cf. Dream; S. Valentine,
passim,

7. Good Women. — Bemardus monachus non vidit omnia, viii. 44;
" Blessed be S. Valentine !" viii. 49.

8. Nun's Tale. — S. Urban, S. Cecile, Virgin, passim.

9. Prioress. — " S. Nicholas, so young, to Christ did reverence." This
saint, though not abstinent by any means on other days, would only
take the breast on evenings, and that not more than once on Wednes-
days and Fridays in the evening.

10. Man of Law. — Virgin Mary, passim. " By 8. John," ii. 39.

11. Squire. — " S. John to borwe," ii. 221, as before.

12. Nun's Priest. — S. Kenelm. See under Dreams.

13. Shipman.- " By S. Martin," " by S. Denis," iii. 97; " Peter I"
iii. 99; "by that lord that cleped is S. Ive", iii. 99; S. Ive was of
Lantriguier, in Bretagne; " S. Austin speed you," iii. 101; "by
S. Jame," iii. 103. All these are of French origin.

14. Merchant.—" S. Mary," ii. 183, 198.

16. Miller.— "By S.Thomas of Kent," i. 196; cf. Fame; "Help
us, S. Frideswide !" i. 202 : she was patroness of an Oxford priory.

136

SOUB FOLK LORIi FKOM CHAUCEH.

I the White Paternoster; "By H. Noet**!

" 8. Benedigbt," i. 204,
(Ncot), a Saxon saint, i

16. Reeve.—" Help, holy cross of Bromholmo 1" i. 233. Tiiis reli-
quary, containing a piece of the true cross, was brought to Bromholmc
Priory, in Norfolk, in 1223. " By S.Cutherd,"i. 227, of Llnsistarne; see
Marmioit. " By that lord that eleped ib S. Jamc," i. 232. CE. S. Ivc,
in Shipman.

17. Friar.—" By S. Jame," ii. 94; " S. Dunatan," ii. 96, who ruled
the Devil; "Lady 8. Mary, help me !" ii. 100; "by the sweet 8. Anne,"
ii.lOO; "S.Loysavethybody," ii.99; S.Eligius was a worker in metals.

18. Sumner. — " For Christ's modcr deere," ii. 106; " God's moder,"
ii. 120; "by B.John," ii,107,122; '-by thatlordthfttclepedia 8. Ive,"
ii.lI2: cf.ahipman; "ThomasofInd,"ii.ll3; "by S.Simon," ii. 117.

19. Pardoner.— "By S. Mary," iii. 81; "by 8. John," iii. 83;
" the cross which that S. Helen found," iii. 89.

20. Canon's Yeoman. — " By 8. Gile," iii. 46. His hermitage was
near Aries.

21. General Prologue. — S, Thomas of Kent, "the holy blissful
martyr," passim; "a Christopher of silver," with the saint carrying
Jesus Christ," i. 81 ; 8. Loy (qy. B. Eligina or S. Louis?) i. 81, the
Prioress's oath; "S.Julian," the hospitable, i, 92; "the sail that
S. Peter had," i. 106,

22. Prioress Prologue. — " By S. Austin," iii. 106.

23. Man of Law Prologue.-" For the love of S, John," ii. 5.

24. Monk Prologue. — " By the precious corpus Madryan," ii. 181;
? the corseint of S. Maternus of Treves.

25. Wife of Bath Prologue.—" By 8. John," ii. 49; " by tliat lord
that eleped is S. Jame," ii. 54; "Peter!" ii. 58; "by S. Joce," ii. 69.
8. Judocus was of Ponthieu.

26. Pardoner Prologue. — "Our lady S. Mary bless hem," iii. 67;
"by 8. Runyaa," iii. 67.

27. — Canon Yeoman's Prologue. — " Peter !"

SOME FOLK-LOB£ FROM CHAUCER. 157

HOUSE OF FAME.

The old custom of appointing days for amicably settling diflferences
(vi. 215) at which the friars were conspicuous (General Prologue,
i. 89), requires here only a passing mention ; see Bracton, lib. v.
fol. 369.

The minstrels at bride-feasts are spoken of in vi, 233, and elsewhere.
But the well-known passage on magic must be given in full.

There sangh I pleyen jngeloors,
Magiciens, and tregetonrs,
And phitonisses, charmeresses,
Olde witches, sorceresses,
That nse exorsisacionns.
And eke thes fnmigacionns;
And clerkes eke, which konne wel
Alle this magike nature!,
That craftely doon her ententes,
To make in certeyn ascendentes,
Ymages, lo, thnrgh which magike,
To make a man ben hool or syke.
Ther sangh I the qnene Medea,
And Circes eke and Calipsa.
Ther sangh I Hermes Ballenns,
Lymeote, and eke Symon Magus.
Ther sangh I Colle Tregetour
Upon a table of sygamonr.
Pleye an uncouthe thynge to telle;
I sangh him carien a wynd-melle
Under a wal-note shale.

yi. 233.

Tyrwhitt rightly compares Matmdeville's account of the jugglers at
the Court of the great Cham, who produce visions of sun and moon,
dancings, jousts and huntings (in other words exhibit magic lantern
slides) with the illusions in the Franklin's tale. Pythonesses are men-
tioned afterwards in the Friar's tale. Hermes Ballenus, Lymeote, and
Colle wait for elucidation; but the use of waxen images and the astro-
logical times for taking medicine are well known. The cry of " largess "
may be found in 1. 219, vi. 237, and the laudes of rich folk announced
by pursuivants and heralds a few lines further on (1. 230).

SOME FOLK-LORE FEOMCnAnCEE.

TROYLUS AND CRESSEYDE.

I cannot omit a passing mention of the puns (most unusual in
Chaucer), "Troy Uistrojdd; Calkas Calkelyng," in (i. 10, 11), v. 19,
20. I must nlao notice the blaunch ferere of (i. 131), v. 49. It is a
quotidian iever. Fevers were divided into red (Mars), Llack (Saturn),
yellow (Bun), white (Moon), according as they showed inflammation,
mortification, jaundice, or pallor. White fever does not moan fasting,
as the commentators tell us.

In the second book wc come on the observance of the month of May,
which ia repeated afterwards in the Knight's Talc; in neither instance
is it the first of May that is observed. Yet I can find no trace of any
English custom connected with t!je third day; and Slialpjspeare, who
almost repeats Chaneer's words, certainly, as I have shown elsewher
refers to the first of May. Compare:

And let QH ilo to May some obscrra

Ami for to donetis oLsecvancc t

Lce. (Mftyard.)
Tropins, V. 5fl (ii. 9).

May. (May 4th.)
Knighfe Tale,i. 138.

To observe the rit« of May.

Ibiil. i-

Mr. Erao takes the 3rd May to mean the last day of the Floralia.

I cannot agree with him; I feel sure that an English or Italian custom

is alluded to, Is there any notice of the Srd May in Boccaccio ? Both

the Chaucerian passages occur in works founded on that author's poems.

In (i. 147), V. 52, we meet with o notice of the Man in the Moon :

Tboa hast fol grcfo care

Lest the chcr! may fal out of the Mone.

In (ii. 5), T. 58, a majden is employed to read romances to Cressida

for her amnsement. In Sir Thopas (iii. 122) gcstoura (readers of

SOME FOLK-LORE FROM CHAUCER. 159

gesta) amuse him in the same way. This poem of Chaucer's appears
from several passages to have been written for the same end (see my
Guide to Chaucer). It was probably made at the request of John
of Gaunt to be read in his family, and the similarity of some incidents
in it to the connection between Gaunt and the widow Katherine Swyn-
ford would naturally annoy the Duchess Constance.

In (ii. 86), v. 77, the giving of love potions is alluded to, and in
(ii. 141), V. 91, the belief that when your ears glow there is somebody
talking of you.

In (ii. 126), v. 89, Troylus is represented by a white eagle; in the
Knight's Tale (i. 159), Emetiius bears a white eagle on his head.
As there is no white eagle in nature, this looks like an allusion to a
heraldic bearing, which may aid in deciphering the story. Or does
the white eagle come from Boccaccio ?

In (ii. 221), v. 110, the use of charms in medicine is alluded to.

In (iii. 20), v. 122, the custom of ringing the bells when a miracle*
had been performed is mentioned; in (iii. 72), v. 134, the notion that
weather changes at the change of the moon.

In (iii. 81), v. 136, " the Tale of Wade," the Scandinavian Ulysses,
is mentioned: his boat (Guingelot) occurs again in the Merchant's
Tale (ii. 168).

Li (iii. 98), V. 141, we meet with an expression repeated frequently
in Chaucer, but the origin of which still awaits some elucidation :

O f atale sustrin which, or eny cloth
Me shapyn was, my destiny me sponne.

Compare Good Women (viii. 122):

Sens first that day that shapen was my sherte,
Or by the fatal suster had my dome.

And Knight's Tale (i. 138):

That schapen was my deth erst than my scherte.

In (iii. 196), v. 165, note the use of the term astrologer as equiva-
lent to horologer, showing that the science of astronomy had not yet
been separated from its practical applications. This occurs again in
the Priest's Tale. So in (iv. 13), v. 184, Calchas groups astronomy

160 SOMK FOLK-LORE FROM CHAUCEE.

(astrology), sort (divination by lot), and angurj (divination by
birdy) in the same category. In (ir. 1D7), v. 226, Cressid langhs at
"sort," and says the gods speak "amphibologies." In (iv. 174),
V. 221, the wax night-light called a mortar is mentioned as a rough 1
timft-measnrer by night.

The wake-vigils and wake-playa, only recently extinct in North 1
Britain, are mentioned in (r. ii), v. 247:

of the feste odiI pleyee pusCoTal
At mj vigil.

Compare Knight's Tale {i. 183):

Ne how the liche wake was jr-bolde,
Al thilke night, ne how the Grelcea play
The wake plejea.

In (v. 259), vi. 50, we meet with the notion that the planeta
partook of the nature of the four elements in proportion to their
'distance from the fiery snn in this order :

Snn VennB Mercury Moon.

Mars Japiter Satnm

Bo that Trojlaa' soul in going to the sphere of Saturn throngh the
spheres of— 1 Moon, 2 Mercury, 3 Venus, 4 Snn, 5 Mars, 6 Jnpitor,
7 Saturn, would pass throngh earth, water, air, iire, and then con- .
versely through fire, air, water :

Id coDTera letyng everych element.

I have not seen this explained heretofore. A good account of the
" natures " of the planets is contwned in Primandaye's French
Academie.

SOM£ FOLK-LOB£ FKOM CHAUCER. 16 1

NOTES.

As the order in which the poems are quoted is neither that of the editions nor
that put forth by the Director of the Chancer Society, I think it necessary to state
here the chronological order that I have followed. It differs in one or two minor
points from that given by me elsewhere, in consequence of recent investigations
by myself and others.

1338. Chaucer bom.

1361. Chaucer's Dream, written for the marriage of the Black Frince—not
for that of John of Gaunt.

1363. Romaunt of the Rose begun. Chaucer 25 years old: one year after
his marriage.

1369. Book of the Duchess (John of Gaunt 's wife, Blanche),
c. 1376. Translation of Boethius.
c. 1380. House of Fame.

1381-2. Parliament of Birds.
c. 1382. Orison to the Virgin.

c. 1382-5. Troylus and Cryseyde (with lines to Adam Scrivener),
c. 1385. Complaint of Pity.

1386 (before May) Palamon and Arcite.

1386 (May) Legend of Good Women begun.

1388-9 L'Envoy a Bukton.
„ Former Age.
,) A.. 15. O.

1391 Astrolabie.

1393 L'Envoy a Scogan.

c. 1394 Complaint of Annelida,
c. 1394 Complaint of Mars.

1394 Second Version of Good Women (called Earlier Version by Mr.

Fumivall.)

c. 1397 Flee from the press.

„ Stedfastness.

„ Gentleness,
c. 1398 Complaint of Venus.

„ Fortune.
1399 Complaint to his Purse.

VOL. IL M

FOUR TRANSCRIPTS

BY THE LATE THOMAS WRIGHT. P.S.A.

J HE following ballad of " Thomas and the Elf Qneen," tran-
scribed from the Cambridge MS., and the three tales
which follow it, were given to me five and forty years ago
by tliat varied scholar, the late Thomas Wright. They were intended
to appear in that part of my little book, Lays and Legmds of Various
JVad'ons, devoted to England. Bot before that Fartwaa given to the
press the work came to an nntimely end. I have not seen Mr.
Wright's beautifully written MS8. from 1834 until a few weeks since,
but, having then found them, I think they might be very appropriately
included in our Bbcord as a memorial of one who has in his numerous
publications done so much to illnstrate the folk-lore and early
literature of England.

WILLIAM J. TH0M8.

THOMAS AND THE ELF QUEEN.

Carefully transcribed from the MS. in the Public Library of the
University of Cambridge, ff. ?. 48. Mr. Jamieson, who has printed
it very incorrectly in his Ancient Ballads, supposes the MS. to be of
the fifteenth century, bnt from internal evidence it would seem to be
older, probably of a not much later period than the middle of the
fourteenth century. From the manner in which the scribe has in
several instances erased what he had first written and from the kind of
alterations he has made, we might almost suppose he was the author
of the ballad ; and, from the quotations which Mr. Jamieson has made

166 FOOB TRAHSCBPTa BY THE LATE THOUAS WEIGHT.

from the MSS. of the Btaae hnlltid in the Cotton and Lincoln librarieB,
those wonU sepm to he later copies in which all our scrihe'a alterations
are adopted. Sir Walter Scott has printed an imperfect copy in his
Border Minstrelsy, but has not told us wlieiice he took it, The very
variations, however, are qnite snfBcient to show that it is a later copy,
by a ruder and more illiterate scribe, either from our MS. or from a
common original. Thus, in the 29th stanza, the scribe who wrote Sir
Walter's copy, not understanding the word heteche, altered " my soule
beteche I the" into " my sole tak to the; " and shortly after he has
turned " drye ther payne " into " derayed their payne," which ia
nonsense. It need hardly be observed, that from the language of all
the copies known, and from the manuscripts in which they occiu-, as
well as from the tone of the second and third cantoea, which consist of
prophecies relating principally to the Scotch Wars of Edward III,, i
the following is clearly not a Scotch, but an English, hnllad.

Ab I me wont this andjtH ■ day

f[aat on my way, makyng my mono,
In a mery momjmg of may,

Be Hniitloy banks my self alone,

I hordo the iny and the thniBCell,

The mavya menyd'' in hir song,
The wodewiJe farde ° aa a bell.

That the wode aboote mo rong.

Alli

longyug as I lay
Vndemetli a cnmly tre,
Saw I wher e. lady gay
Came ridand oner a lonely 1e.

jil '' I ahnld aitte till domeeday,
Allc with my tongo to know and h

Serteniy alio hir aray
Shalle hit nener be acrycd " for me,

Hir palfray was of dappnll gray,

Likeon'solnenornon:
As dose ' the anne on Boniers day,
The cnmly lady hir aelfe Bchon."

's day, *• Ihp thrush. ' went on.

THOMAS AND THE ELF QUEEN. 167

Hir sadill was of renyll bon,

Semely was that sight to se,
Stifly sette with precions ston,

Compaste abonte with crapste.

Stonys of oryons * gret plente;

Hir here ^ abonte hir hed hit « hong.
She rode ont oner that lonely le,

A while she blew, a while she song.

Hir garthis of nobnll silke thai were,

Hir bocnls thei were of barys^ ston,
Hir stiroppis thei were of cristall clere,

And alle with perry • abonte be gon.

Hir paytrell' was of a riall fjme,

Hir cropnr f was of araf e,
Hir bridnll was of golde fyne,

On enery side hong bellis thre.

She led iij grehonndis in a leesshe,^

yiij rachis ' be hir f ote ran.
To speke with hir wold I not 8eesse.J

Hir lire ^ was white as any swan.

She bare a home abont hir halce,*

And vnder hir gyrdill meny flonne.*"
Ff or sothe,^ lordyngs, as I yon tell,

Thns was this lady fayrebe gon.

Thomas lay and saw that sight

Vndemeth a semely tre;
He seid, *' yonde is Mary of myght

That bare the childe that died for me.

Bnt I speke with that lady bright

I hope my hert wille breke in thre;
Bnt I woU go with alle my myght

Hir to mete at eldryn tre."

» the east (orient), •» hair,

o it, the nenter of the prononn he, heoy hit — ^we now nse for the fem. an older
form she^ and in the nenter we drop the h.
* beryl. * pearl. ' the breast leather of the horse.

«f cmpper. *• leash. * honnds.

J cease. ^ complexion. * neck.

™ arrows. ° truth.

168 FOUR TRANSCRIPTS BV THE LATE THOMAS WRIGTIT.

'riioiiiiis nwlly ' vp he raec,''

And ran oner that mowiilpync hyc.
And ccrtiinly, na tho Btorj sajes,

ile bir metC£ bC eldiyn tre.

He knelid dowu ypoa liili btiie
Vndemctli the grene wodo spray;
" Lonely lady, thn row " on me,

Qwene of benen, as tbn well may."

Than seid that tody bright,
" Thomas lot snch vordis be:
Ffor qnen nf henen am I noyght ;
I toke nener so hyc degre.

Bnt I am a lady of a nother cuntrs,

If I bo parellid mooat of price,''
I rido after the wilde fee,"

My raches ranuen at deujae."

" If tha be pareld ' most of prlco,
And lidia here in thi balyc,<
LnHy lady, aa tbn art wyae,
To gif roe love to lye the by."

" Do way 1 Thomas, that were foly,
I pray the hertely, let me he,
Ffor I say the secnrly,"
That woldo fordo' my Iwwte."

" Lnfly lady, tbn rew on me,

And I shall ener more with the dwell.
Hero my trontli I plight to the,
Wheder tbn wilt to heaen or hell,"

" Man of moldo tbn wilt me marre ;
But jet tiin shalt bane thy wille;
Bnt trow tbn well thii tbrynist the warre,
Ffor alia my benle tha willo spillc." '

)own then light that lady bright

Vndemeth a grene wode spray,

And, as the stoiy tellna fnl right,

* qnieily

^ apparelled most costly.

■ dominion.

a be hir I:

" cattle (A. Sax. feoh.)
■ C.rt»nl,.
•^ spoil, deatroy.

° me, have pity.
' apparelled,
destroy.

THOMAS AND TH£ ELF QUEEN. 169

She seid, " Thomas, tha likes thi play:
What byrde * in bonre * may dwel with the?

Thn marris ^ me here the lefe long day:
I pray the, Thomas, let me be."

Thomas standand in that stid,^

And beheld that lady gay:
Hir here that hong ypon her hed,

Hir eien semyd out tii&t were so gray;

And alle hir clothis were a way,

That he before saw in tii&t stede.*
The tother black, the tother gray;

The body blee ' as beten leed.'

Thomas seid, '' AlasI alasl

In feith that is a dolfall sight,
That thn art so f adnt ^ in the face,

That be fore schone as snnne bright."

** Take thi leve, Thomas, at snne and mone,

And also at levys of eldryn tre,
This twelmond shall thn with me gone,

That mydnl erth thn shalt not se."

He ki\elyd down ypon his kne,
To Mary mylde he made his mone,
** Lady, bnt thn rew on me,

Alle my games fro me ar gone.

" Alas I " he seyd, " woo * is me,
I trow my dedis wil wyrk me woo,
Ih'n my sonle be teche J I the,
Wher so ener my bonys shall goo."

She led hym to the eldryn hill,

Vndemethe the grene wode lee,
Wher hit was derk as any hell,

And ener water tille ^ the knee.

Ther the space of dayes thre

He herd bnt the noyse of the flode,
At the last he seid, " Wo is me I

Almost I dye for fowte of fode." *

» damsel. ** bower. ° mars. ^ place.

• place. ' blue. » lead. *» faded.

* woe. i giye, deliyer up. ^ To, up to * fault (or want) of food.

170 FOUR TIUNSCRII'TS BY THK~I^fB'THOBUa ^iKlG

Sho led hjm into b fajr herbere,'
Thor fmte growende '■ wbb grot plonto,

PejTCH and appnis hoihe ripe thei were,
The darte," and also the damsjn tre:

Tho iygge, and also the irhite berji
The n;gh^gale bi^rgynge * her neat,

The papyniay ' fast abont gati iiye.
The throatnll song woMe bane no rMt.

EepTOKd topnl the fm;[t with] hiahonde
Aa man for fods wexe ny honde ' fejute.

She Beid, " Thomns, let that ther stonde,
Or ellia the feecd [will] the ateynte. i

If thn polle, the sothe to say,

Thi sonle goeth to the fjn of hell|
Hit cornea neoer oat til domes day,

Snt tber cner in pajne to dwelle,"

She aeid, " Thomas, I the hight,''

Come lay thi bed on my kne.
And tho shalle se the fejreet sight

That eaer saw nion ot thi cnntre."

He leyd down his hed, as she hym badde,

Bis hed vpoD bir kne he leide ;
Hir to pleeao ho waa full gladilo,

And then that lady to hjm she seide: —

" Sees thu gooder Tp fayr way

That lyes oner ponder mounteynoi
ponder ia the way to heyen for ay,
Wban aynfnl aonlia hane dnryd ther peyne.

Seeat thn now, Thomas, jonder way

That lyae low under )on riae;
Wide ia the way, the sothe to say,

Into the joyea of paradyae.

Sees thn ponder thrid' way

That Ijes oner jonder playne;
jonder is the way, the aothe to scy,

Ther J ainfnll aonles ehalle drye * therpaync.

" bnilding.

' parrot.

° " date " in Sir W. Scott's copy.
' nigh hand, «■. almost.

THOMAS AND THE ELF QUEEN. 1 7 1

Sees thn now ponder fonrt way

That lyes oner jonder felle;
ponder is the way, the sothe to say,

Vnto the brennand fyre of hell.

See thn now ponder fayre castell

That stondis Tpon ponder fayre hill ;
Off towne and towre it berith the bell,

In mydnl erth is ther non like ther tilL

In faithy Thomas, ponder is myne owne,

And the kyngns of this cnntre :
Bnt me were better be hongnd and drawyn,

Then he wist that thn lay be me.

My lorde is semed at ilke a messe

With xxx** knyjts fayre and fre,
And I shalle say, sittyng at the deese,*

I toke thi speche be jonde the lee.

Whan thn comes to yonder castell gay,

I pray the cnrtes^ man to be,
And, what so ener any man to the say,

Loke thn answer non bnt me."

Thomas stondjmg in the stede.

And be helde that lady gay,
She was feyre, and as rede.

And as riche, on hir palfray.

Hir greyhonndis fillid with the dere blode,

Hir rachis coupnld ° be <* my fay ;
She blew hir home, on hir palfray gode,

And to the castell she toke the way.

Into a hall sothly* she went,

Thomas f olnd ' at hir hande :
Ladis come bothe f aire and gent,

Ffnl cnrtesly to hir kneland.

Harpe and fidnl both thei f ande,

The gstom, and also the santry,
The Inte and the ribybe both gangand,

And alle maner of mynstralcy.

» dais, the high table in the hall. •> courteous. « coupled,

d by. • " truly. ' followed.

1 72 FOUR TRANSCRIPTS BY THE LATE THOMAS WRIGHT.

Kny^ts dawnsyng be thre and thre,

Ther was renel, both game and play;
Ther ware ladys fajre and fre

Dawnsyng with riche aray.

The gretist f erly ther Thomas thojt,

When xxx^ harts lay ypon flore,
And as meny dere in were broght,

That was largely long and store.

Rachis lay lappand on the dere blode,
The cokys* thei stode with dressyng knyres.

Brytnand ^ the dere as thei were wode;
Renell was among [thaim] rife.

Ther was renell, games, and play,

More than I yow say, parde ;
Tille hit f el ypon a day,

My Infly lady seid to me,

" Bnske the, Thomas, for thn most gon,
Ffor here no lenger mayst thn be:
Hye the fast, with mode,^ and mone:
I shalle the bryng to eldyn tre."

Thomas answerid, with heny chere,
'^Lnfly lady, thn let me be:
Ffor certenly I hane be here
Bnt the space of dayes thre."

** Ffor sothe, Thomas, I the telle,

Thn hast bene here senen jere ^ and more:
Ffor* here no longer may thn dwell,
I shal tel the the skyl ' wherfore.

To moron on of hel, a fowle f ende,

Among these folke shal chese his fee.
Thn art a fayre man and a hende,

Ffnl wel I wot he wil chese the.

Ffor alle the golde that ener myght be

Ffro henen vnto the wordis c^ ende,
Thn beys ^ nener trayed * for me:

Ffor with me I rede J the wende."

» cooks. ** carving, cntting np. « mind. ^ yei^rs.

• wherefore. ' canse. » world's. *» art. * betrayed. J advise, connsel.

THE MILLEE AT THE PKOFESSOU S EXAMINATION.

She broght hjm ngajn to eldyntre,

Vndemethe tiie grenewode spray,
In Ilnntlcy hanks, ther for to be,

Tbcr fouljs sjng botha njjt and day.
" Ffor ont oner jon nionnten grny,

Thomas, a fowkcn ' makes bin nest;
A fowfcyn ia an yrooH •" pray,

Ffor thei in place will haue no rest,
Ffare wel, Thomaa, I wende my way.

Ffor me moat oner jon bents brown."
This ia a fytte; twajn ar to Bey,

Off Thomaa of Eraeltown,

THE MILLER AT THE PROFESSOR'S
EXAMINATION.

There once came to England a famous foreign professor, and before
he came he gave notice that he would examine the students of all the
colleges in England, After a time he had visited all hut Camhridge,
and he was on hia road thither to examine publicly the whole uni-
versity. Great was the bustle in Cambridge to prepare for the recep-
tion of the professor, and great also were the fears of the students,
who dreaded the time whea they must prove their acc[uircments
before one so famous for his learning. As the period of his arrival
approached their fears increased, and at last they determined to try
some expedient which might avert the impending trial, and for this
purpose several of the students were disguised in the habits of common
labourers, and distributed in groups of two or three at convenient
distances from each other along the road by which the professor was
expected.

He had in his carriage arrived at the distance of a few miles from
Cambridge when he met the first of these groups of labonrers, and the
coachman drew up his horses to inquire of them the distance. The
professor was astonished to hear them answer in Latin. He pro-
ceeded on his way, and, after driving about half a mile, met with
■ falcon. '' ei^les.

174 FOUR TEAN8CH1PT8 BY THE LATE THOMAS WRIGHT.

another groap of labourers at work ou the road, to whom a similar
qiiestioD was put by the cortchman. The professor was still more
astonished to hear them give answer in Greek. " Ah !" thought he,
" they must be good scholars at Cambridge, when even the common
labourers on the roads talk Latin and Greek. It won't do to examine
them in the same way as other people." So all the rest of the way he
waa musing on the mode of examination he should adopt, and, just as
he reached the outskirts of the town, he carao to the determination
that he would examine them hy signs. As soon, therefore, as he had
alighted from his carriage, he lost no time in making known this novel
method of examination.

Now the students had never calcnlated on such a result as this
from their stratagem, and they were, as might well be expected, sadly
disappointed. There wos one student in particnlar who had been
studying very hard, and who was expected by everybody to gidn the
prize at the examination, and, as the idlest student in the university
hart the same chance of guessing the signs of the professor as himself,
he was in very low spirits about it. When the day of examination
arrived, instead of attending it, he was walking sadly and moumfnlly
by the banks of the river, near the mil), and it liappened that the
miller, who was a merry fellow and used to talk with this student as
he passed the mOl in his walks, saw him, and asked him what was the
matter with him. Then tlie student told him all about it, and how the
great professor was going to examine by signs, and how he was afraid
that he should not get throngh the examination. " Oh ! if that's all,"
said the miller, " don't he low about the matter. Did you never hear
that a clown may sometimes teach a scholar wisdom? Only let me
put on your clothes, with your cap and gown, and 111 go to the
examination instead of you; and if I succeed you shall have the credit
of it, and if 1 fail I will tell them who I am." "But," said the
student, everyl odj knows tl at I have b t one eye Never m nd

that," sa d the m Her I can en ly ^ \ bUcl patcl er one of
mine." bo they changed cloth 3 anl th u lie we t to the pro-
fessor's exam oat n tl ud t s ip a 1 go vn w t! n j. tch on
his eye.

THE MILLER AT TUB PEOFESSOU's EXAMINATION.

175

Well, just ea the miller entered the lecture-room, the professor had
tried all the other students, and nobod; could guess the meauiog of his
signs or answer his qiiestiona. So the miller stood up, and the pro-
fessor, putting hia hand in his coat pocket, drew out an apple, and
held it up towards faim. The miller likewise put his hand in his
pocket, and drew out a crust of bread, which ho in like manner held
out towards the professor. Then the professor put the apple in his
pocket, and pointed at the miller with one finger; the miller in return
pointed at him with two : the professor pointed with three : and the
miller held out his clenched fist. "Right!" said the professor; and
he adjudged the prize to the miller.

The miller made all haste to communicate these good tidings to his
friend the student, who was waiting at the mill; and the student,
having resumed his own clothes, hastened back to hear the prize given
out to him. When he arrived at the lecture-room, the professor was
on his legs explaining to the assembled students the meaning of the
signs which himself and the student who had gained the prize made
use of. " First," said he, " I held out an apple, signifying thereby
the fall of mankind through Adam's sin, and he very properly held up
a piece of bread, which signified that by Christ, the bread of life, man~
kind was regeneratod. Then I held out one finger, which meant that
there is one God in the Trinity; he held out two fingers, signifying
that there are two; I held out three fingers, meaning that there are
three; and he held out Jiis clenched fist, which was as much as to say
that the three are one."

Well, the student who got the prize was sadly puzzled to think how
the miller knew all this, and as soon as the ceremony of publishing the
name of the successful candidate was over he hastened to the mill,
and told him all the professor had said. " Ah I" said the miller, " I'll
tell you how it was. When I went in the professor looked mighty
fierce, and he put his hand in his pocket, and fumbled abont fur some
time, and at last he pulled out an apple, and ho held it out as though
he would throw it at me. Then I put my hand in my pocket, and could
find nothing but an old crust of bread, and so 1 held it out in the same
way, meaning that if he threw the apple at me I would throw the ci-nst

176

FOUR TRANSCRIPTS BY THK LATE TUOMAS WRIGHT.

at bim. Then he looked still more fiercely, and lield ont hie oa
03 much as to saj be woald poke raj one eye oat, and I held out t
fingers, meaning that if he poked out my one eje I would poke out his
two, and then he held out three of hie fingers, as though he would
scratch my face, and I clenched my fist and Khook it at bim, meaning
that if he did I would knock bim down. And then he said I deserved
the prize."

THE LAYING OP THE GHOST.

There lived in the town of , in that part of England which

lies towards the borders of Wales, a very curious simple kind of a
man; though, simple as he seemed, people all said there was more cun-
ning in him than there appeared to be, and that he knew a good deal
that other people did not know. Now there was in the same town
a certain largo and very old house, and one of the rooms was haunted
by a ghost, which not only hindered people from makiug any nae of that
room, but was also yery troublesome to them in other ways. The
man whom I have just mentionecl was reported to be very clever at
dealing with ghosts, and the proprietor of the haunted house, by the
advice of some of his friends, sent for bim and asked him if he would
undertake to make the ghost quit the house. Tommy, for that was
the name the man generally went by, agreed to do this, on conditioo
that he should have with him in the room which the ghost freciuented
three things, an empty bottle, a bottle of brandy with a tumbler, and
a pitcher of water. So Tommy had a fine fire in the room, for it waa
a cold winter evening, and he locked the door safely in the inside and
sat down to pass the night drinking brandy and water. Well, just as
the clock struck twelve, he was roused by a slight noise, and looking
up, lo ! there was the ghost standing before him. Says the ghost,
" Well, Tommy, how are ye ? " " Pretty well, thank ye," says he,
" but pray how did ye know my name ? " " CHi, very well indeed,"
said the ghoat. "And how did je get in?" "Oh, very easily."
" Not through the door, I'm sure." " No, not at all, but through the
key-hole." " D'ye say so 7 none of your tricks upon me ; I woat
believe you came through the key-hole." " Won't ye ? but I did." "I'm-

THR LAYING OF THE GHOST. 177

sure you can't get through the key-hole." " I'm sure I can." " Well,
then," says Tommy, pointing to the empty bottle, which he pretended
to have emptied, *' if you can come through the key-hole you can get
into this bottle, but I won't believe you can do either." Now the
ghost began to be very angry that Tommy should doubt his powers of
getting into the bottle, so he asserted most confidently that the thing
was easy to be done. " No," said Tommy, " I won't believe it till I
see you get in." ** Here goes, then," said the ghost, and sure enough
into the bottle he went, and Tommy corked him up quite tight, so that
he could not get out, and he took the bottle to the bridge where the
river was wide and deep, and he threw the bottle exactly over the
key- stone of the middle arch into the river, and the ghost was never
heard of after.

LEGEND OP THE ROLLRIGHT STONES.

Not far from the borders of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and
within the latter county, is the pretty village of Eollright, and near
the village, up a hill, stands a circle of small stones, and one larger
stone, such as our Celtic antiquaries say were raised by the Druids. As
soon as the Druids left them, the fairies, who never failed to take posses-
sion of their deserted shrines, seemed to have had an especial care over
these stones, and any one who ventures to meddle with them is sure to
meet with some very great misfortune. The old people of the village,
however, who generally know most about these matters, say the stones
were once a king and his knights, who were going to make war on
the King of England ; and they assert that, according to old prophecies,

•

had they ever reached Long Compton the King of England must
inevitably have been dethroned,^ and this king would have reigned
in his place, but when they came to the village of Eollright they were
suddenly turned into stones in the place where they now stand.

[• The old rhyme runs,—

If Long Compton thon can*st see.
Then King of England thou shalt be.
See Hutchinson's History of Cumherlandf i. 230.]

VOL. II. N

1 78 FOUR TRANSCRIPT8 BY THE LATE THOMAS WRIGHT.

Be this as it mny, there was once a farmer in the villnge who wanted
a large stone to put in a particular pusition in an out-house lie was
building in his farm yard, and ho thought tbat one of the old knights
would be just the thing for htm, In spite of all the warnings of his
neighbours he determined to have the stone he wanted, and be put
four horses to his beat waggon and proceeded up the hill. With
much labour he succeeded in getting the stone into his waggon, and,
though the road lay down hill, it was so heavy that his waggon was
broken ami his horses were killed by tlie labour of drawing it home.
Nothing daunted by all these mishaps, the farmer raised the stone to
the place it was to occnjiy in his new building. From this moment
everything went wrong with him, his crops failed year after year, his
cattle died one after anothei-, he was obliged to mortgage bis land and
to sell his woggons and horses, till at last he had left (inly one poor
broken-down horse which nobody wonld buy, and one old crazy cart.
Suddenly the thought name into his bead that all his misfortoues
might be owing to the identical stone which be had brought from the
circle at the top of the hill. He thought he would try to get it
back again, and bis only horse was put to the cart. To bis surprise
he got the stone down and lifted it into the cart with very bttle trouble,
and, as soon as it was in, the horse, which before could scarcely bear
aiong its own limbs, now drew it up the bill of its own accord with as
little trouble as another horse would draw an empty cart on level
ground, until it came to the very spot where the atone bad formerly
stood beside its companions. The stone was soon in its place, and
the horse and cart returned home, and from tbat moment the farmer's
affairs began to improve, til! in a short time he was a richer and more
substantial man than he had ever been before.

[Traditions that the large circles of stones to be seen in various
parts of the country were ouce iiuman beings, are to be met with
elsewhere than at Eollright. The tradition is not limited to England.
For instance, in India, about fifteen miles east of Murdan, in the dis-
trict of Eusoofzye, is a remarkable circle of tall and upright stones.

L£G£ND OF THE R0LLBI6HT STON£S. 179

The only tradition or legend the people have regarding the fabric is that
the attendants of a marriage, while passing over the plain, were changed
into these stones by some powerful magician or malignant demon.
{Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal^ vol. xxxix. p. 69.)

Sometimes again the human element is left out. The only recorded
tradition with regard to the stone circle at Stanton Drew represents
Keyna, a holy virgin in the fifth century, the daughter apparently of
a Welsh prince, obtaining a grant of the land on which the village of
Keynsham now stands. She was warned, however, of the insecurity
of the gift, in consequence of the serpents of a deadly nature that
infested the place. She accepted the gift notwithstanding, and by her
prayers converted the serpents into the stones we now see there.
(Ferguson's Rude Stone Monuments^ p. 151, quoting ArchcBologia,
XXV. p. 189.)

The early traditions relating to great stones are an important subject
connected with the primitive life of Britain, political as well as mytho-
logical, and it should be dealt with exhaustively for the Folk-Lore
Society. Mr. Stuart has collected many important passages on stone-
worship from the early chronicles and laws, in the second volume of
his Sculptured Stones of Scotland, and Mr. Akerman contributed a
valuable paper to the Numismatic Society " On the Stone Worship of
the Ancients, illustrated by their C!oins."]

N 2

THE STORY OF CONN-EDA;*

OE, THE GOLDEN APPLES OF LOUGH ERNE.

[TranBlated fenn the original Irish, by Nicholas O'Eeabnby, Esq., and te-
ediled from The Cambrian Jtmrnal pablialed under the ftaspices of the
Cambrian Institnto, Tol. ii. pp. 101-llB. Loudon, 1855.]

■ HE following romantic tale, qt Fionn-sgeal, is as wild as any
told by the Arabian princesSj and both curious and io-
teresling, because it solely relates to Ireland. The story
is a literal translation of an Irish one frequently told, or
rather recited, by a professed story-teller, or Ursgealaidhe, named
Abraham Mac Coy, during his profeasional engagements. The story-
teller, possibly the last member of his profession known to havu
flourished in Ireland, was a Hying encyclopajdia, replete witJi stories
of the same nature, some of which have been rescued from oblivion,
and may tend to throw light on the manners, customs, and forms of

• Some yoara ago two rndo statnes were fonnil in Neale Park, connty Mayo,
the seat of Lord Eilmaine. One represented a aui(x>nj, probalily tbo goat, from
whence the comncopia was taken for Jopiter ; the other a lion, or some Each
animal. The inscription foand on those monnments of antiqnity, as is stated.
Bays that these were the "IHi nafc'de," gods of plenty, anil were the goda adored
by Conn and Eda. Hence the place has been called Nmle, from the Irish words
"anfheiW (prononnced aneile)iand, bocansethclrish articles an, the, have been
attached to the snbstantive, the Neale is the name by which Ibe place bas been
known. The traditions of tbe people exactly correspond with thia account. The
statnes, it ia said, are still preserved in the park of Lord Kilmainei bat neveT
having been in that part of the island, I Iulto not seen them.

THE GOLDEX APPLES OF LOUGH EKNE,

181

religions belief entertained by tlie pagan Irish, or, perhaps, help to elu-
cidate BORie obscuritiea found dimmiDg many pages of oar ancient
hutxtry.

It was long before the time the western districta of Innis Fodhla" had
any settled name, but were indiscriminately called afler the person who
took poGSessioD of them, and whose name they relained only as long as his
Bway lasted, that a powerful king reigned over this part of the sacred
island. He was a puissant warrior, and no individual was found able to
compete with him either on land or sea, or question his right to his con-
quest. The great king of the west held uncontrolled sway from the
island of Ralhlin to the mouth of the Shannon by sea, and far as the glit-
tering Shannon wound its sinuous length by land. The ancient king of
the west, whose name was Conn, was good as well as great, and passion-
ately loved by his people. His queen was a Breaton (British) princess,
and was equally beloved andesteemed,becauseshe was the very counter-
part of the king in every respect; for whatever good qualification was
found wanting in one, the other was certain to indemnify the omission.
It was plainly manifest that heaven approved of the career in life of the
virtuous couple; for during their reign tlie earth produced exuberant
crops, the trees iruit ninefold commensurate with their usual bearing,
the rivers, lakes, and surrounding sea teemed with abundance of choice
fish, while herds and flocks were unusually prolific, and kine and
sheep yielded such abundance of rich milk, that they shed it in torrents
upon the pastures; and furrows and cavities were always filled with
the pure lacteal produce of the dairy. All these were ble^ings heaped
by heaven upon the western districts of Innis Fodhla, over which the
benignant and just Conn swayed his sceptre, in approbation of the
course of government he had marked out for his own guidance. It is
needless to state that the people who owned the authority of this great
and good sovereign were the happiest on the face of the wide expanse
of earth. It was during his reign, and that of his son and successor,
that Ireland acquired the title of the " happy isle of the west " among
* Innii Fodhla, iBland of Fate, as some think, an old name of Ireland.

182

THE STOBY OF CONN-EDA ; OE,

foreign nations. Conn Mor and his good Queen Eda reigned in great
glory during many yeRrs: they were blessed with an only son, whom
they named Conn-eda, after both his pareDts, because the Druids fore-
told, at his birth, that he would inherit the good qualities of both.
According as the young prince grew in years, his amiable and benig-
nant qualities of mind, as well as his great strength of body and manly
bearing, became more manifeBt. He was the idol of his parents, and
the proud boast of his people; he was beloved and respected to that
degree that neither prince, lord, nor plebeian swore an oath either by
the Buh, moon, stars, or elements, except by the head of Conn-eda,
This career of glory however was doomed to meet a powerful but tem-
porary impediment, for the good Queen Eda took a sudden and severe
illness, of which she died in a few days, thus plunging her spouse, her
son, and all her people, into a depth of grief and sorrow from which it
was found difficult to relieve them.

The good king and bis subjects mourned the toss of Queen Eda for
a year and a day; and, at the expiration of that time, Conn Mor reluc-
tantly yielded to the advice of his Druids and counsellors, and took to
wife the daughter of his Archdruid, The new queen appeared to
walk in the footsteps of the good Eda for several years, and gave
great satisfaction to her subjects. But in course of time, having had
several children, and perceiving that Conn-eda was the favourite son
of the king and the darling of the people, she clearly foresaw that be
would become successor to the throne after the demise of his father,
and that her son would certainly be excluded. This esoited the
hatred and inflamed the jealousy of the Dmjd's daughter against her
Btepaon to such an extent, that she resolved in her own mind to leave
nothing in her power undone to procure his death, or even exile from
the kingdom. She began by circulating evil reports ofthe prince; but,
as he was above suspicion, the king only laughed at the weakness of
the queen ; and the great princes and chieftains, supported by the
people in general, gave an unqualified contradiction; while the prince
himself bore all his trials with the utmost patience, and always repaid
her bad and malicious acts towards him with good and benevolent
ones. The enmity of the queen towards Conn-eda knew no bounds

THE QOLDKN APPLEB OK LOUGH EKNE.

183

when she saw that the false reports she circuluted oould not injure
him. As a last resource, to carry out her wicked projects, she deter-
mined to consult her CaiUeaeh-ckearc (hen-wife), who was a reputed
enchantress.

Piirauant to her resolution, by the early dawn of morning she tied
to the cabin of the Cailleach-ckearc, and divulged to her the cause of
her trouble. "I cannot render you any help," said the Cailleach,
"until you name iheduais " (reward). " What dvais do you require?"
asked the queen impatiently. " My duais," replied the enchantress,
" is to fill the cavity of my arm with wool, and the hole I shall bore
with my distaff with red wheat." " Your dvais is granted, and shall
be immediately given you," said the queen. The enchantress there-
upon stood in the door of her hut, and bending her arm into a circle
with her side, directed the royal attendants to thrust the wool into her
house through her arm, and she never permitted them to cease until
all the available space within was filled with wool. She then got on
the roof of her brother's house, and, having made a hole through it
with her distaff, caused red wheat to he spilled through it, until that
house was filled up to the roof, so that there was no room for another
grain within, " Now," said the queen, " since you have received your
duais, tell me how I can accoraplieh my purpose." " Take this chess-
board and chess, and invite the prince to play with you ; you shall
win the first game. The condition you shall make is, that whoever
wins a game shall be at liberty to impose whatever geam (conditions)
the winner pleases upon the loser. When you win, you must bind the
prince under the penalty either to go into ionarbadh (exile), or pro-
cure for you, within the space of a year and a day, the three golden
apples that grow in the garden, the eack dubk (black steed), and
coilean con na mlniadh (hound of supernatural powers), called Samer,
which are in the possession of the king of the Firbolg race, who
resides in Lough Erne.* Those two things are so precious, and so well
guarded, that he can never attain ihem by bis own power; and, if he
would rashly attempt to seek them, he should lose his life."

• The Firbolgs believed their elysinm U
fancy that mimj of onr lakes ore peopled.

ml the Irish adll

184

THE BTOBY OF CONN-EDA ; OK,

The queen was greatly rejoiced at the advice, and lost no time in
inviting Conn-eda to play a game at chess, under the conditioDs she
had been instructed to arrange by the enchantress. The queen won
the game, as the enchantress had foretold ; but so great was her
anxiety to Lave the princu completely in her power, that she was
tempted to challenge him to play a second game, which Conn-eda to
her astonishment, and no less mortification, easily won. " Now," said
the prince. '' since you have won the first game, it is your duly to
impose your gets first." " My gets," said the queen, "which I impose
upon you, is to procure ma ihe each ditbh (black steed), and cuilean
con na mbuadh (hoimd of supernatural powers), which are in the
keeping of the king of the Firbolgs, in Lough Erne, within the space of
a year and a day ; or, in case you fail, to go iuto ionarbadh (exile),
and never return, except you surrender yourself to luse your head and
comhead heatha" (preseryation of life), " Well, then," said the
prince, " the geis which I bind you by is, to sit upon the pinnacle of
yonder tower until ray return, and to take neither food nor nourish-
ment of any description, except what red wheat you can pick up
with the point of your bodkin ; but, if I do not return, yet
at perfect liberty to come down at the expiration of tlie year and^
day,"

In consequence of the severe gets imposed unexpectedly upon hini
Conn-eda was very much troubled in mind; and, well knowing he
had a long journey to make before he would reach his destination,
immediately prepared to set out on his way, not however before
he had the satisfaction of witnessing the ascent of the queen to
the place where she was obliged to remain exposed to the scorching
sun of summer, and the blasting storms of winter, for the space
of one year and a day, at least. Conn-eda being ignorant of what
steps he should take to procure the each dubh and cuilean con na
mluadk, though he was well aware that human energy would prove
unavailing, thought proper to consult the Great Druid, Fionn Badhna,
of Sliabh Badhna, who was a friend of his, before he ventured to pro-
ceed to Lough Erne. When he arrived at the biniighean of the Di'uid

THE GOLDEN APPLES OF LOUQH ERNE.

185

he was received with cordial frieadship, and the Jailte, * aa usual, was
poured out before him; and, when he was seated, warm water was
fetched, and his feet bathed, so that the fatigue he felt after his jour-
ney was greatly relieved. The Druid, after he had partaken of re-
freshments, consisting; of the newest of food and the oldest of liquors,
asked him the reaaoa for paying the visit, and more particularly the
cause of his sorrow; for the prince appeared exceedingly depressed in
spirit. Conn-eda told his friend the whole history of the transaction
with his step-mother, from the beginning to the end. '' Can you
not assist me ? " asked the prince, with downcast countenance,
"I cannot, indeed, assist you at present," replied the Druid, "but
I will retire to my grianan at sun-rising on the morrow, and
learn by virtue of my druidism what can be done to assist you."
The Druid, accordingly, as the sun rose on the following morning,
retired to his grianan, and consulted the god he adored, thi'ough
the power of his druidheaclit. When he returned, he called Conn-eda
aside on the plain, and addressed him thus ; — " My dear son, I find
you have been bound under a severe — an almost impossible— jei's,
intended for your destruction ; no person on earth could have advised
the queen to impose it except the Cailleach of Lough Corrib, who is
the greatest Druidess now in Ireland, and sister to the Firbolg King of
Lough Erne. It is not in lay power, nor in that of the deity I adore,
to interfere in your behalf ; but go directly to Sliabh Mis, and con-
sult Ednchinn-duine (the bird with the human head), and, if there be
any possibUity of relieving you, that bird can do it; for there is not
a bird in the western world so celebrated as that bird, because it
knows all things that are past, all things that are present and exist,
and all things that shall hereafter exist. It is difficult to find access to
his place of concealment, and more difilcult still to obtain an answer
from him; but I will endeavour to regulate that matter for you; and
that is all 1 can do for you at present,"

• Fa'ilte meanB welcpmn, bnt it means much more in original MSS. ; even the
Irish contraction of the word meana/ai7, a circle, and r, or re, the indiiidual
sarrooDdeil by friends.

186

THE BTlUjy Ol'- CONN-EDA; OB,

The Archdnjid then instructed liitn thus : — " Tafce," said li«j<|
" yonder little shaggy steed, and mount Lim immediately; for ii
days the bird will muke himself visible, and the little shaggy steed will I
conduct you to his place of abode. But, lest the bird should refuse to I
reply to your queries, take this precious atone (Jeag longmhar), aad pre-, I
sent it to him; and then little danger and doubt exist but he will give ■
you a ready answer." The prince returned heartfelt thanks to th» J
Druid; and, having saddled and mounted the little shaggy horse without 4
making ranch delay, received the precious stone from the Druid, and^ ,
after having taken his leave of him, set out on his journey. He suf» J
fered the reins to fall loose upon the neck of the horse, according bmM
he had been instructed, so that the animal took whatever road he chose. ,

It would be tedious to relate the numerous adventures he had with I
the little shaggy horse, which had the extraordinary gift of speech, and I
was a draoidkeackt horse, during his journey.

The prince having reached the hiding-place of the strange bird a
the appointed time, and having presented hira with the leag longmJtai
according to Fioiin Badhna's instructions, and proposed his questio:
ould best arrange for the fuliilmei
s mouth the jewel from the stone on whicl|]
m inaccessible rock at some distance, aatlj
i addressed the prince : — " Conn-eda, t
of the King of Cruachan," said he, in a loud croaking human v
" remove the stone just under your right foot, and take the ball <
iron and the coMia (cup) you shall find under it; then mnunt yiiad
horse, oast ihe ball before you, and having so done, your horsi
you all the other things necessary to be done." The bird, having s
this, immediately flew out of sight.

Conn-eda took great care to do everything according to the instmw
tions of the bird. He found the iron ball and corna in the piM
which had been pointed out He took them up, mounted his hor«fl
and cast the ball before him. The ball rolled on at a regular gait^
while the little shaggy horse followed on the way it led, until the*
reached the margin of Lough Erne. Here the ball rolled i
water and became invisible. "Alight now," said the draoidkea

relative to the manner h
geis, the bird took up in
it was placed, and flew to ar
when there perched, he thus

THE GOLDEN APPLES OF LOUGIi ERSE.

187

pony, " and put your baud into mine ear ; take from thence the amall
bottle of ice (allheal) and the little wicker basket which you will find
there, and remount with speed, for just now your great dangers and
difficulties commence." Conn-eda, ever faithful to the kind advice of
his (Iraoidheadd pony, did what he had been advised. Having taken
the basket and bottle of ice from the aoimal's ear, he remounted and
proceeded on hia journey, while the water of the lake appeared only like
an atmosphere above his head. When he entered the lake the ball
again appeared, and rolled along until it came to the margin, acrosa
which was a causeway, guarded by three frightful serpents ; the
hissings of the monsters were heard at a great distance, while, on a
nearer approach, their yawning mouths and formidable fangs were
quite sufficient to terrily the stoutest heart. " Now," said (he horse,
" open the basket, and cast a piece of the meat you find in it into the
mouth of each serpent ; when you have done this, secure yourself in
your seat in the beat manner you can, so that we niay make all due
arrangements to pass those draoidheacht peists. If you cast the
pieces of meat into the mouth of each peiat unerringly, we shall
pass them safely, otherwise we are lost. Conn-eda Hung the pieces
of meat into the jaws of the serpents with unerring aim. " Bear
a benison and victory," said the draoidheacht steed, " for you are
a youth that will win and prosper." And, on saying these words, he
sprang aloft, and cleared in his leap the river and ford, guarded by
the serpents, seven measures beyond the margin. " Are you still
mounted. Prince Conn-eda? " asked the steed. "It has taken only half
my exertion to remain so," replied Conn-eda. " I find," said the pony,
" that you are a young prince that deserves to succeed, — one danger is
now over, but two others still remain." They proceeded onwards after
the baU until they came in view of a great mountain flaming with fire.
" Hold yourself in readiness for another dangerous leap," said the
horse. The trembling prince had no answer to make, but seated him-
self as securely as the magnitude of the danger before him would permit.
The horse in the nest instant sprang from the earth, and flew like an
arrow over the burning mountain. " Are you still alive, Conn-eda,
son of Conn-mfir?" inquired the faithful horse. "I am just alive

188 THE STORY OP CONN-EDA ; OB,

and no more, for I am greatly scorched," answered the prince, " Since
you are yet alive, I feel assured that you are a young man deRtined to
meet supernatural succesa and benipons," said the druidic steed. " Our
greatest dangers are over," added he, " and there is hope that we shall
be able to overcome the next, and last danger." After they proceeded
a short distunce, his faiihful steed, addressing Conn-eda, said, " alight
now, and apply a portion of the contents of the little bottle of ice
lo your wounds." The prince immediately followed the advice of
his miiaicor ; and, as soon as he rubbed the ice (allheal) to his
wounds, he became as whole and fresh as ever he had been before.
After having done this, Conn-eda remounted, and, fallowing the track
of the hall, soon came in sight ofa great city surrounded by high walls,
The only gate which was visible was not defended by armed men, but
by two great towers, which emitted flames that could be seen at a great
distance. "Alight on this plain," said the steed, " and take a email knife
from my other ear; with this knife you shall kill and flay me. When
you hAve done this, envelop yourself in my hide, and you can pass the .
gate unscathed and unmolested. When you get inside you can come out |
at pleasure ; because, when once you enter, there is no danger, and yot
can pass and repass whenever you wish; and lei me tell you that all I
have to ask of ycu in return is that you, when once inside of the gates,
will immediately return, and drive away any birds of prey that may be
fluttering around to feed on my carcase; and more, that you will pour
any little drop of that powerful ice, if such still remain in the bottle,
upon my flesh, to preserve it from corruption. When you do this in
memory of me, if it be not too troublesome, dig a pit and cast ray
remains into it."

" Well," said dmn-eda, " my noblest steed, because you have been
so faithful to me hitherto, and because you still would have rendered
me further service, I consider such a proposal insulting to my feelings
as a man, and totally at variance with the spirit which can feel the
value of gratitude, not to speak of my feelings as a prince. But
as a prince I am able to say, ' Come what nmy — come death itself
in its most hideous forms and terrors — I never will sacrifice private
friendship to personal interest,' Hence I am, I swear by my arms

THE GOLDEN AITJ.ES OF LOUGlt EKME.

1S9

of valour, prepared to meet llie worst, — even death itself, — sooner
than violate ihe principles of humanity, honour, and friendship 1
What B. sacrifice do you propose 1 " " Pshaw, man ! heed not that ;
do virhat 1 advise you, and prosper." " Never 1 Never ! " exclaimed
the prince. " Well, then, eon of the great western monarch," said the
horse, with a tone of sorrow, " if you do not follow my advice on this
occasion, I can tell you that both you and I shall perish, and shall
never meet again ; but, if you act as I have instructed you, matters
shall assume a happier and more pleasing aspect than you may
imagine. I have not misled you heretofore, and, if I have not, what
need have you to doubt the most important portion of my counsel ?
Do exactly as 1 have directed you, else yon will cause a worse fate
than death to befall me. And, moreover, I can tell you, ihat, if you
persist in your resolution, I have done with you for ever."

When the prince found that his noble steed could not be dissuaded
from his purpose, he took the knife out of his ear with reluctance, and
with a faltering mind and trembling hand essayed experimentally to
point the weapon at his throat. Oouti-eda's eyes were bathed in tears;
but DO sooner had he pointed the druidic sctan to the throat of his
good steed than the dagger, as if impelled hy some druidic power,
stuck in his neck, and in an instant the work of death was done, and
the noble animal fell dead at his feetl When the prince saw hta
noble steed fall dead by his hand, he cast himself on the ground, and
cried aloud until his consciousness was gone. When he recovered
he perceived that the steed was quite dead; and, as he thought there
was no hope of resuscitating him, he considered it the most prudent
course he could adopt to act according to the advice he had given
him. Afler many misgivings of mind, and abundant showers of
tears, he essayed the task of flaying him, which was only that of a
few minutes. When he found he had the hide separated from the
body, he, in the derangement of the moment, enveloped himself with
it, and proceeding towards the magnificent city in rather a demented
state of mind, entered it without any molestation or opposition. It
was a surprisingly populous city, and an extremely wealthy place ;
but its beauty, magnificence, and wealth had no charms for Conn-eda,

242 INDEX.

Lang, A. on the Folk-Lore of France^ i. 99-117

Lanval, the story of» ii. 8

Latham, Mra. on fVest Sussex SupersHtioM, i. 1-67

Latin origin of French fairy tales, i. 213

Lawrence, the God of idleness in Cornwall, ii. 203

Left hand and side, use of, at mourning (Malagasy), ii. 39

Left foot, not to enter house with (Malagasy), ii. 37

Legends (Irish), query on MS. collection of, i. 250

Lemur, contains spirits of ancestors (Malagasy) , ii. 22

Liebrecht, Dr. obsenrations on first volume, ii. 228-9

Lincoln, mentioned in local rhyme, i. 160

Lincolnshire, nutting superstition in, i. 155

Lincolnshire Eel, legend of, referred to, i. 245

Lindholme, local saying on, i. 173

Lion Bruno, story of, i. 209-12

Lithuanian tale quoted, i. 85

Lloyd (Miss), projected journal of African Folk-Lore, i. 251

Local Rhymes and Sayings (^Yorkshire), i. 160-175 ; query on, i. 249

London, mentioned in local rhymes, i. 160-2

Lord*s Prayer, superstition on saying it backwards, ii. 205

Lot, divination by, mentioned by Chaucer, ii. 160

Louster, Cornish term for working hard, ii. 203

Love, cuckoo prognostications of success in, ii. 56 ; potions alluded to by Chaucer,
ii. 159; tokens, ii. 115 ; vows, curious custom of, i. 241; yarrow used for divi-
nation of, i. 156

Lustration of the fields in France, i. 103

Magic, passage on, from Chaucer, quoted, ii. 157

Magic and Witchcraft, a divisional group of Grimm*s Folk.Tales) i. 97

Maids, Old, traditions concerning, ii. 200

Malagasy Folh-Lore and. Popular Superstitions^ by James Sibree, jun. ii. 19-46

Malagasy Folk-Tales, discovery of, ii. 19

Manual of Folk-Lore suggested, i. 243

March, Saxon name of, preserved, ii. 201

Marriage ceremonies, cuckoo connected with, ii. 71-2; portion of sheep given to
bride's parents (Malagasy), ii. 24

Marriage party turned into stone (Indian), ii. 178-9

May, cat bom in, superstition concerning, ii. 205; observances of the month of, men-
tioned by Chaucer, ii. 158

May Colvin, parallels to, i. Ill

May Day, customs, ii. 199 ; feast at Nun Monkton. i. 239; superstitions in Dublin,
i. 156; in Wicklow, i. 157

Measurement, regulation of, by Queen ^s fingers, &c. (Malagasy), ii. 88

Meat used as wart-charm, i. 217-8

Meaus (Yorks.), local rhyme on, i. 166

THE GOLDEN APPLES OF LODGH EENE.

191

ynur instrumentality. Come with me, my friend and deliverer, and
the steed and the puppy hound of extraoi'dinary powers, nnd the
goJden apples, shall be yours, and a cordial welcome shali greet you in
my brother's abode; for you deserve all this find much more."

The exciting joy felt on the oscasion was mutual, and they lost no
time in idle congralulationa, but proceeded on to the royal residence of
ilie King of Lough Erne. Here they were both received with demon-
GtraiioQS of joy by the king and his chieftains; and, when the purport
of Conn-eda's visit became known to the king, he gave a iree consent
to bestow on Conn-eda the black steed, the coilean con-na-mbiiadh,
called Samer, and the three golden apples of health that were growing
ia his garden, under the special condition, however, that he would
consent to remain as his guest until he would set outi on his journey
in proper time, to fulfil hist^m. Conn-eda, at the earnest solicita-
tion of his friends, consented, and remained in the royal residence of
the Firbolg King of Lough Erne, in the enjoyment of the most deli-
cious and fascinating pleasures during that period.

When the time of his departure came, the three golden apples were
plucked from the crystal tree in the midst of the pleasure garden, and
deposited in his bosom; the puppy hound, Samer, was leashed, and
the leash put into his hand; and the black steed, richly harnessed, was
got in readiness for him to mount. The king himself helped him on
horseback, and both he aod his brother assured him that he might not
fear burning mountains or hissing serpents, because none would impede
him, as hia steed was always a passport to and from hia subaqneotia
kingdom. And both he and hia brother extorted a promise from
Conn-eda, that he would visit them once every year at least.

Conn-eda took hia leave of his dear friend, and the king hia brother;
the parting was a tender one, soured by regret on both aidea. He pro-
ceeded on his way without meeting any thing to obstruct him, and in
due time came in sight of the drin of his father, where the queen had
been placed on the pinnacle of the tower, in the full hope that, as it
was the last day of her imprisonment there, the prince would fail to
make his appearance, and thereby forfeit all pretensions and nglit to
the crown of his father for ever. But her hopes were doomed to meet

244 INDEX.

Norwegian onokoo legend, ii. 77

NottinghaniBhire, cuckoo belief, ii. 61 ; pancake custonu in, ii. 213

Numbers, luckj and unlucky (Malagasy), ii. 88

Nun Keling, local rhyme on, i. 166

Nun Monkton Feast, 1. 289

Nutting superstitions, i. 155

Oak-tree, nail driven into, will cure toothache, i. 224

Odyssey, parallel to, in French ballad, i. 109

Ogier, the story of, ii. 7-8

Ogres, similarity of^ in France and Italy, i. 218

Old Scrat, ii. 198

Omens. See ** Animals,*' *< Birds ''

Ordeals (Malagasy), ii. 88-86 ; for murder, ii. 101-2

Oxen, Malagasy customs concerning, ii. 23-25

Oxford, mentioned in local rhyme, i. 162

Oxfordshire, dragon legend, i, 248 ; wart-cures, i. 228

Owls, of eyil omen (Malagasy), ii. 22, 26

Pancake, piece of, first given to the cock, ii. 1^18

Partenopex, the story of, ii. 8

Paternoster, traditional story about, ii. 138

Paternoster, The White, a note on, by E. Carrington, ii. 127-34

PauU, local rhyme on, i. 167

Pea, used in wart-cures, i. 220

Pechs. See « Picts "

Pekin, spirit superstition from, i. 237

Pendle, local rhyme on, i. 167

Pennigent, local rhyme on, i. 167

Pfoundes, 0. on Some Japan Folh-Tales, i. 117-35

Picts or Pechs, a race of dwarfs, ii. 100

Pigs, superstitious dislike to (Malagasy), ii. 22 ; prognostication of wind by carrying
straw in their mouths, ii. 205 ; blood of, used in wart-cures, i. 218-19

Pin used in wart cures, i. 218, 224

Pindar of Wakefield, a popular hero, i. 161

Pisa, variant of Cinderella from, i. 192; of Queen Angelica, i. 196 ; of The Wood-
man, i. 197

Pisky, Cornish name of a, ii. 202

Place names derived from the cuckoo, ii. 74-76

Plant-Lore Notes, by J. Britten, i. 155-59

Plants, cuckoo, ii. 78-81 ; superstitions concerning (Malagasy), ii, 29 ; unlucky,
i. 158-9 ; used in wart-cures, i. 225

Players* superstitions, ii. 203-5

Pliny, quoted on cuckoo beliefs, ii. 57, 64
Plutarch, quoted on cuckoo beliefs, ii. 64

THE STOEY OF CONN-EDA. 193

for the denouement out of the pony's ears, &c. &c. A variant of the
first part of this story is to be found in one of the numerous Irish
chapbooks published by James Duffey, of Dublin, This chapbook is
called Hibernian TaleSy and the story " The Black Thief and Knight
of the Glen.'* Here there are three princes instead of one. The Knight
of the Glen answers to the King of Lough Erne, and the Black Thief is
the means of the success of the princes, instead of the pony. The
pony does not appear at all, and the Black Thief saves the lives of the
princes from the vengeance of the Knight of the Glen by telling
stories. The two stories are very nearly identical in the opening
portion, containing the jealousy of the step- mother, the means taken to
accomplish her designs, the game of chess and the double result; but
the latter portion differs considerably.]

VOL. II. O

246 IND£X.

St. Anne*8 Day, Breton custom on, i. 101

St. Davi<l*8 Day, custom, ii. 199

St. Monday, shoemakers* holiday, query as to origin of, i. 245

St. John*s Eyo, ceremonies on, in France, i. 101

Salutations, old forms of (Malagasy), ii. 87

Sanctuary laws of Alfred, local rhyme connected with, i. 166 ,

Sand (black) placed on head of corpse (Malagasy), ii. 42

Sand, George, rural novels of, referred to for folk-lore, i. 104

Sanskrit original of Scotch story, i. 95

Sardinia, variant of folk prayer in, ii. 181

Satchell, Thomas, on Child and the Toad, i. 237; Child's charm for new Tooth,
i. 237; Hand-itching Augury, i. 240; Sayings and . Customs of Cornwall,
ii. 201-8 ; Shoe Augury, i. 238 ; Swearers, Judgment on, i. 238

Scandinavian story of " Brynhild's Magic Sleep,*' quoted, i. 84

Scarborough, local saying on, i. 169

Scarborough warning, i. 169-72

Scotland, cuckoo beliefs in, ii. 50, 85, 87, 89; cuckoo rhyme, ii. 50; cuckoo saying,
ii. 52 ; funeral custom of, ii. 214 ; proverb quoted, ii. 73 ; swallow superstition,
ii. 67. See Argyle

Scotland (folk-songs of), variants in Finnish, i. Ill ; in France, i. 108, 110

Scotland (folk-tales of ), quoted, i. 92, 94 ; variants of, i. 92, 94

Seamen's superstitions, query on, i. 249

Sermons (old), suggested source for folk-lore, i. 154

Serpent, burning of, a Breton custom, i. 101

Serpent (and Dragon) legends, query oil, i. 247

Serpents, stories about, fabulous (Malagasy), ii. 27 ; appeased by meat in Irish folk-
tale, ii. 187 ; in European folk-lore, ii. 192 ; Malagasy superstitions about, ii.
20 ; tradition of, being turned to stones, ii. 179

Servian cuckoo prognostication, ii. 58

Seven sleepers, belief in, ii. 65

Shakspeare quoted on cuckoo belief, ii. 64 ; on cuckoo song, ii. 50

Sheep, certain portion given to bride's parents (Malagasy), ii. 24

Sheffield, local rhyme on, i. 165

Shepherd's purse, unlucky in Lancashire, i. 159; Middlesex {ihld.^i Birmingham
(ibid.) ; Hanover (ibid.) ; Venezuela (ibid.)

Shoe, augury from wearing of, i. 238

Shropshire, cuckoo ale in, ii. 84

Shrove Monday custom, ii. 213

Sibree, Rev. J. On Malagasy Folk-Lore, ii. 19-46

Sickness, charm against (Malagasy), ii. 45-6 ; customs at (Malagasy), ii. 42

Sicilian stories, collection of, mentioned, i. 71

Sicily, traditions of Fatui in, ii. 7

Sikes's British Ooblins, notice of, ii. 220-1

Singular number, dislike of (Malagasy), ii. 38

** Sir Gawayne," the story of, ii. 8

NOTES, QUEEIES, NOTICES,

AND NEWS.

NOTES.

I Communications far these ooUvmns should he addressed to the "Bon, Secretary, "]

1. Extracts from old Chapboohsy ^c. — Professor Dr. George
Stephens, F.S.A., of Copenhagen, sends the following extracts from
out of-the-way sources. They serve well to illustrate the value of
the cheap popular literature* of former times, a comprehensive study
of which is so much desired.

Elves, Gasts, Ghosts, &c. — " The ghosts, like old horses, go all
night for fear they are seen, and he made to carry scate or fish or he
carted ; and witches are the worst kind of devils, and make use of cats
to ride upon, or kill-kehhers, and hesoms, and sail over the seas in
cockle-shells, and witch lads and lasses, and disable bridegrooms. As
for Willy-and-the-Wisp, he is a fiery devil, and leads people off their
road in order to drown them, for he sparks sometimes at your feet,
and then turns before us with his candle, as if he were two or three
miles before us. Many a good boat has Spunkie drowned ; the boats
coming to land in the night-time, they obseiTe a light off the land,
and set in upon it and drown." — History of Buck-haven in Fifeshire,
Chapbook. Glasgow. 8vo. p. 22, 23.

" Fairies are terrible troublesome, they gang dancing round fouks
lums, and rin through the houses they haunt, and play odd tricks, and
lift new-bom bairns from their mothers, and none of them is safe to
lie with their mothers, a night or two after they are bom, unless the
mother gets a pair of men's breeches under her head for the first three
nights ; when the fairies are frighted, they will leave an old stock with
the woman, and whip away the child. One tried to bum an old stock
that the fairies left in the cradle; but, when the fire was put on, the
old stock jumped on upon a cat and up the lum." — Id, p. 28.

198 NOTES.

" And here I make a tow, either to get the conquest, or else never
to come in yoar sight, and to eaj or I iraa wont :
Whtit, Ilimp and Hamp7
Hera will I nener mora grinde aor stamp.

Tonra in choUer, JloSiit Qoad-fellow."

From Sohin Ooodfellovves Epistle, prefixt to The Cobler of Canter-
hirie, London, 1608, sm. 4to. See Halliwell, Tarlton'g Jests, p. 110.
(Above verses printed as prose), " Hob Thmst, Robin Goodfellow,
and such like sjiirites," — Halliwell, TarltOJis Jests, 8vo. Lond. 18U,
p. 55 (Shakespear Soo.)

" The kelpy is a sly devil, he roars before a loss at sea, and
frightens both yonng and old npon the shore."— Sfsiory of Buek-
haven. Chapbook (as abore), p. 23.

" Which [figure] he took no doubt for the ' Whooffey Brow bogl^*
or ' Old Scrat ' himself." — Cumberland Pacqyet. Quoted in Morning
Chronicle, Nov. 5, 1858, p. 8, col. 6.

Brownie, hia sitting on an ale-cask, and his game at ball. — Thrummy-
Cap. Chapbook.

Boe. — "Boe bnlbagger, as some use to feare children withal."^
Jack of Dover. (Chapbook, reprint, p. 27.)

Bell, Bellman. — Bell at Dalkeith used by the Popish clergy, which
would "rive" (rend) at touch of a guilty person. — Jokes of Q.
Buchanan. (Chapbook, pt. i. p. 20.)

" The Night before he was to suffer Death, the Bellman coming aa
usual at Night to put him in mind of his approaching End, by repeating
some Mementos of Mortality: quoth he, 'Tlie Deel blaw my Bladder
full of Pebble Stones if this Mon may not as well sing Psalms to a dead
Horse as prate thus to me.' Next Day, riding along in the Cart, which
stopped under the Wall of St. Sepulchre's Churchyard, whilst a Man
performed the Ceremony of ringing a Bell, and giving other Admoni-
tions tending to the exhorting liim to consider of a future State :
quoth he, ' This is the strangest Country Ise e'er was in, that a Man
can't go to the Gallows in Peace, Ise swear, if Ise am damn'd, it is
because I'm hanged after this Superstitious wan.' Bat what seemed
more irreligious in him was his having, instead of a Prayer Book, tlie

NOTES. 199

Ballad of * Chevy Chase' in his hand." — Smith, Lives of Highwaymen
vol. ii. London, 1719; pp. 193-4 (in Life of Sawney Douglas). The
custom is explained in the same work (vol. iii. Lond. 1720, pp. 45,
48). It was establisht by Eliz. Elliot, temp. James I. she leaving
£250 to pay a man for ringing a bell under Newgate, between 11 and
12 of the night before any one was to be hanged, repeating a solemn
exhortation; and again next day, under St. Sepulchre's churchyard,
the bell in the steeple tolling for them, and the cart stopping for that
purpose, while the bellman repeats another pious address.

Chastity. — " Bevis answered: by the Lions not hurting thee, I know
thou art a pure Virgin." — Sir Bevis of Southampton, (Chapbook,
Newcastle, p. 16.)

May-Day. — " In summer season howe doe the moste part of our
yong men and maydes in earely rising and getting themselues into
the fieldes at dauncing ? What foolishe toyes shall not a man see
among them I What vnchast countenances shall not be vsed then
among them I Or what coales shall there be wanting that maye
kindle cupid's desire ! Truly none. Through this dauncing many
maydens haue been vnmaydened, whereby I may saye it is the store-
house and nurserie of bastardie. What adoe make our yong men
at the time of May ! Do they not vse night-watchings to rob and
steale yong trees out of other men's grounde, and bring them home
into their parishe with minstrels playing before ? And when they
have set it up they will decke it with floures and garlandes, and
daunce round (men and women together, most vnseemely and intoler-
able, as I haue proued before,) about the tree." — Collier's Northhrooke^s
Treatise, 1577, p. 176.

St. David's Day. — " With other Materials, as Shoes, Hat, Stockings,
and Periwig, which he made up much like such a Figure, which was
wont to be hung up for a Show on St. Taffy's Day." — Smith's Lives of
Highwaymen, vol. i. Lond. 1719, p. 122.

Corpse Arrest.^ *« Nay, hast thou not seen the very corpse of thy
departed brother arrested, and uncharitably stayed ; who, though he
had paid his debt to nature, yet must receive no burial till his poor
corpse has discharged his debt unto his creditor ? And hast thou

2 FIRST REPORT, MAT 1879.

No one who has made the manners, cnstoms, obaerrances, saperBtitions, ballads,
pn)yer))8, &c. of the olden time his stndj, but mnst have arrived at two con-
clusions:— the first, how mnch that is cnrions and interesting in these matters is
now entirely lost — the second, how mnch may yet be rescued by timely exertion.
What Ilono endeavoured to do in his '' Eveiy-day Book," &c. the Athefuenm,
by its wider circulation, may accomplish ten times more effectually — gather
together the infinite number of minute facts, illustrative of the subject I have
mentioned, which are scattered over the memories of its thousands of readers,
and prcHcrve them in its pages, until some James Grimm shall arise who shall do
for the Mythology of the British Islands the good service which that profound
antiquary and philologist has accomplished for the Mjrthology of Grermany. The
present century has scarcely produced a more remarkable book, imperfect as its
learned author confesses it to be, than the second edition of the ** Deutsche
Jlythologir; " and what is it ?— a mass of minute facts, many of which, when
separately considered, appear trifling and insignificant— but, when taken in con-
nexion with the system into which his master-mind has woven them, assfume a
value that he who first recorded them never dreamed of attributing to them.

How many such facts would one word from you evoke, ^m the north and
from the south — from John O'Groat's to the Land's End I How many readers
would be glad to show their gratitude for the novelties which you, from week to
week, communicate to them, by forwarding to you some record of old Time— some
recollection of a now neglected custom — some fading legend, local tradition, or
fragmentary ballad !

Nor would such communications be of service to the English antiquary alone.
The connexion between the Folk-Lobe of England (remember, I claim the
honour of introducing the epithet Folk-Lore, as Disraeli does of introdncing
Father-Land, into the Literature of this country) and that of Germany is so
intimate that such communication will probably serve to enrich some future
edition of Grimm's Mythology.

Let me give you an instance of this connexion. — ^In one of the chapters of
Grimm, he treats very fully of the parts which the Cuckoo plays in Popular
Mythology — of the prophetic character with which it has been invested by the
voice of the people; and gives many instances of the practice of deriving pre-
dictions from the number of times which its song is heard. He also records a
popular notion " that the Cuckoo never sings till he has thrice eaten his fill of
cherries." Now I have lately been informed of a custom which formerly obtained
among children in Yorkshire, that illustrates the fact of a connexion between the
Cuckoo and the Cherry, — and that, too, in their prophetic attributes. A friend has
communicated to me that children in Yorkshire were fofmerly (and may be still)
accustomed to sing round a cherry-tree the following invocation: —

Cuckoo, cherry-tree,

Come down and tell me

How many years I have to live.

Each child then shook the tree, — and the number of cherries which fell betokened
the years of its future life.

NOTES. 201

trembling." — History of Buck-haven in Fifeshire, Chapbook, 8vo.
Glasgow, p. 22.

** The bucky lads and lasses, when they go to gather bait, tell
strange stories about ghosts, witches, Willy- with-the- wisp, and the
kelpy, fairies, maukens, and bogles of all sorts " — Id, p. 22.

Burials. — " Within the coffin, along with herself, she got a pair of
new brogues, a penny candle, a good hard-headed old hammer, with
an Irish sixpenny-piece to pay her passage at the gate, and what
more could she look for ?" — The Comical Sayings of Paddy from
Cork, Chapbook, Stirling, p. 13,

Dancing. — " Insomuche that in some places they shame not in the
tyme of divine service to come and dance about the churche, and
without [? withal] to have naked men daimcing in nettes, which is
most filthie ; for the heathen, that had never further knowledge than
the light of nature, have counted it shameful! for a player to come on
the stage without a slop," — Stockwood's Sermon, 1578. Quoted in
Collier's Northbrooke's Treatise, p. xiv.

ii. Excerpts made from two Lists of Obsolescent Words of East Corn-
wall, contained in The Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall,
Nos. i. and xi. (subsequently reprinted at Truro), and from MS.
additions made thereto by the compiler Thomas Quiller Couch, F.S.A.
of Bodmin : —

Airy-Mouse, the Bat. — The village boys at Polperro address the
bat, as it flits above them, in the following rhymes:—

" Airy moose, airy mouse 1 fly over my head,
And yon shall have a crust of bread ;
And when I brew and when I bake,
Ton shall have a piece of my weddmg cake.''

" Friday in Lide " Festival.— This Anglo-Saxon name of the month
of March still lingers in the Blackmoor tin district. " Friday in Lide "
(the first Friday in March) is observed by the tinners as a festival
now chiefly marked by a serio-comic custom of sending a young lad
to the highest '* bound " or hillock of the work, and allowing him to
sleep there as long as he can ; the length of his nap being the measure

of the mid-day nap of the timiors thronghout the ensning twel
months. The weather usually charQctcrising " Friday in Lide
need hardly be said, not very favourable to prolonged sleep. In
Saxon times labourers generally were allowed their mid-day sleep,
and it is etill permitted to husbandmen in some parte of East Coi
wall during a. stated period of the year. Tusser speahs of the cusl
" From May to mid-Anguat an hour or two
Let Patch sleep a snatch howsoever ye do ;
Tbongh sleeping one honr refresheth his song,
Tct trust not Hob Greatheait for sleeping too long."

There is a aaying in Lnxulgan that " ducks will not lay tilt they
have dnink Lide water." — Appendix to List of Obeolesoent Words in
No. XI. of The Journal of the Roijnl Institution of Cornwall.

Neck. — A miniature sheaf of whent with four plaited aims, inter-
twined with " everlasting " and the more durable of flowers.

The stalks of wheat bronght down by the last sweep of the scythe
are brought home in thankful triumph, and woven as described, and
in the evening taken into the mowhay [stackyard], wbore are as-
sembled all the harvest party. A stout-lunged reaper proch
loudly and slowly :

" I hav'en I I hav'en I I hav'en I"

Another loud voice questions :

" What hav'ea ? What hav'ee ? What hay'et
" A neck I A neck 1 A nock I"

laim^^_

is the reply ; and the crowd take up in their lustiest tones the chorus
of " wurrab." General merriment follows, and the songs are loud,
and the draughts of ale or cyder deep.

Tlie neck may be seen hanging to the beam in many of our farm-
houses between harvest and Christmas eve, on which night it is given
to the master-bullock in the stall. " Hollaing the neck " is in some
parts of Cornwall still heard, and is one of the cheerfulest of rural

Wad.— A bundle ;
lame of a Pisky.

a wad of straw. "Joan the Wad" is the

NOTES. 203

" Jack the lantern, Joan the wad,
That tickled the maid and made her mad,
Light me home, the weather's bad."

(Polperro,)

Church-hay. — Churchyard. This word is going out of use, but is

often heard in the adage —

" A hot May
Makes a fat chnrch-hay."

The terminal hay is the Anglo-Saxon hcea or heze, a hedge or inclo-
sure.

Corrat. — Pert, impudent, sharp in rejoinder, saucy.

" As corrat as Crocker's mare."

Proverb,
Heal. — To hide or conceal —

" The healer is as bad as the stealer."

Cornish Proverb,

Louster.— To work hard—

<' He that can't schemey (or skill) mnst lonster."

Local Proverb,

Lawrence.— The rural god of idleness —

" He's as lazy as La'rence."

** One wonld think La'rence had got hold o'n.*'

Koper's News. — Something heard before^

" That's roper's news."

Bodmin Phrase,

Kish or Kush, i. e. A list. Our people, instead of " turning over a

new leaf," " begin a new rish." I have thought that this may have

been derived from a primitive way of keepuig a tally, by stringing

some sort of counters on a rush, Thomas Satchell.

iii. Players^ Superstitions, — The superstitions of players are many
and various, and are astonishing by reasons of their simplicity. Kecently,
in a pleasant after-dinner conversation, Mr. Boucicault made a series
of curious revelations. He remarked especially upon the superstitions
of ballet dancers. Every grade of the ballet in England and on the
Continent is a slave to superstition. For instance, in his Babil and
Bijou a premiere danseuse and twenty coryphees rebelled at the full-

204 NOTEB.

drese rehearsal, beoanse tlie scene in which they had to dance was
entirely in blue, without any adommentB of sUrer. Blue is an unlucky
colour among players, all the world over, silver being its only saving
relief. In the English theatres, to trip on entering on the scene
on the first night of a play is a sure sign of success. To receive a
bouqnetat the stage'door before the play begins is an omen of failure.
In America, too, some strange superstitions prevail. When the
Staci: Crook was ready for production at Niblo'a Garden, under the
management of Mr. Wheatley, Mr. Jarrett, and Mr. Palmer, the first-
named was very nervona about it. Every thing depended on its
success. Failure meant ruin, and he could not view the situation as
calmly as his partners did. The theatre was all lighted up, the
carpenters had "set" the first two scenes, and Flanagan, the
janitor, had his hand on the holts ready to throw open the stained-
glass doors that kept out the clamorous crowd that had gathered in
the hallway. Mr. Wheatley, standing beside the gate with his
partners, gave the signal for opening the doors, and the rush began.
Tlie first person who reached the ticket-taker was a lady, accompanied
by a little boy. Mr. Wheotley leaned over the rail, and thrust her
outside, at the same time pushing a man, the nnxt in turn, inside the
railing. Then, raising his hat politely to the lady, he apologized and
escorted her to the usher himself. "It would never do," he afterwards
said to a friend, " to allow a woman to be the first to enter the theatre
on a first night. It'sunlaekj; let a man in first, and you are all right."
The Crook was very succeBsfnl, and no argument could convince Mr,
Wheatley that he had not saved it by thmsting a man in first.

A few more words on this subject. In America, as in England, the
player has a superstitious objection to rehearsals on the Sabbath.
During the rehearsals of Leo and Labis at Niblo's Garden there were
two Hun day night rehearsals, and at each it was found necessaiy to
lock the doors at 1 1 p.m. to keep the dancing girls from running away.
Even then some got out of the green-room windows into Crosby Street,
climbed over the iron railings, and escaped. It is believed that
salaries will not be paid regularly during the run of a piece reheoreed
on Sundays, or that the piece itself will be a failure, or that a death

NOTES. 205

will occur in the company. This was predicted at the Sunday
rehearsals of The Crook, and the croakings of the ballet girls were
verified by the sudden death of a soubrette. At the Grand Opera
House, during Mr. Fisk's teiiu of management, Sunday rehearsals
were enforced in spite of the protests of the Company. When the
great spectacle Lalla RooTch was preparing there were three Sunday
representations, and the birds of ill-omen were loud in their predic-
tions of disaster. Mr. Fisk was shot and killed before the fourth
Sunday-night revel, and the piece, although magnificently presented
to the public, did not prove remunerative. — See The Theatre, Sept.

1879, p. 106.

William George Black.

iv. Superstitions of WeardaU, 2>wrAam.— Friday.— The same ideas
are held as in West Sussex. See Folk-Lore Record, vol. i. Nos. 49,
50, 51.

May Cat. — It is believed that a cat bom in the month of May will
suck the breath of a baby in the cradle if the opportunity offers.

Worms. — To cure this complaint, a trout is to be obtained and placed
alive upon the bowels of the patient, and bound with a bandage, and
kept there all night. The writer remembers this being done to a boy
about seven years old about the year 1830.

Witches. — In passing a witch, doubling the thumbs under the fore-
fingers was considered a preventive to being bewitched.

Pigs. — When pigs are seen to carry straw in their mouths it is
considered to be a sure sign of wind.

Witch Wood. — A piece of wood cut from the mountain-ash was
considered a preventive of bewitching, if carried about the person.

Eepeating the Lord's Prayer backwards, it was said, would cause the
devil to raise his head through the floor ; the only way of appeasing
him was to present him with a black hen.

Lay two straws, in the form of a cross, and say—

*< Bain, rain, go away,
Din'nt come back till Christmas Baj,"

was considered to prevent a wet day.

J. G. Fbnwiok.

20o

V. Witchcrajlin ComwaU,\BiA. — Not long Binee the resting-placeof
tbe dead at Phitlack, aear Hayle, was made the scene of tranBactiong
which would have blackened the darkest ignorance of bygone ages. It
appeal's that several persons afflicted witii disease, and who, for want
of moral courage, would not submit to the directious of their medical
advisers, very readily caught hold of and applied every nostrum that
gosEips made known. Experience proviog that the boasted remedies
were of no avail, their imaginations were put to the utmost stretch, in
order that they might avoid the only method by which they could be
cured. Fortunately a blazing light shot across their darkened way,
and their gloomy reflections were dissipated by its brilliancy. It was
a revelation j and they denounced their ignorance, because they did
not sooner find out the cause of their malady. To believe that they
were ill-wished was only the work of a moment, but to discover a
person who could break the spell was not so easily accomplished.
Every thought and action were centered in attaining their darling
object. Finally, their wish was consummated, and a scatterer of
witch-spells stalked forth from Helston, to whom they disclosed every
incident of their hves, fraught with uncertainty, as tending to good or
evil. The day was chosen, the dreaded hour of midnight fixed, and
the abode of the silent clod of all that once was living was named an
the place of assignation. The hour drew near, but their purpose
became known from the impulse of their ecstacies, and their stealthy
actions were closely watched. The asked-for fee was immediately
given, and, after silence was enjoined, the churchyard wall was sealed.
Then the spell-breaker commenced the mysteries of bis art, by making
mysterious sounds and performing mysterious actions, as he walked
over the dead, hotly pressed by bis frightened dupes. Having walked
many times round the church, the doors and windows opened and shn^
at his bidding. Then he commanded them to remain open, and, i
they were passed in saccession, he brought the persons who had iUj
wished them to their face. Thus tbe spell was broken and dissolved^
and a faith given that their cure would be speedily efFocted.
days have since elapsed, and either their faith has failed, or the
spell is not broken, for their disease still maintains its ground, thaj

NOTES. 207

effect of a visible cause. — West Briton, quoted in the Titnesy 9th
Sept. 1844.

vi. Consulting a Witch.^-^Qross Superstition in Devonshire, — At the
village of Charles, in the extreme north of Devon, considerable gossip
and excitement have been caused by the visit of a personage known as
**The White Witch." A small farmer in the parish, with a deal of
credulity scarcely credible in these dfiys, believed that he had been
bewitched by a relative, and accordingly went off to visit " The White
Witch," who ostensibly carries on the business of herbalist at Exeter,
and vends a charm which will cure all diseases of humanity. This
was, however, too serious a matter to be dealt with by mere potions,
and the " Witch Doctor " persuaded his victim that it would be
necessary to accompany him in order to find out the whereabouts of
and exorcise the evil spirit. On arriving at the hous6 proceedings
were conunenced by the " White Witch." A mixture of incense was
placed on a plate and lit, and a sort of incantation gone through, those
present being strictly enjoined to silence on pain that the whole pro-
ceeding would be violated. Somehow or other the spell failed to work,
and the *< witch*' intimated that he would have to return to the
farmer's house, and stay a week in order to effect a perfect cure, being
fed meanwhile on beef, which would alone strengthen him sufficiently
to enable him to perform his task satisfactorily. It seems that the
farmer's wife was somewhat less credulous than her liege lord, and
declined to be imposed upon in this way, and the result was an inquiry
into and exposure of the whole trick. It is said that in remote parts
of Devonshire such instances of credulity are far from uncommon, and
in most instances the impostors succeed in bleeding their victims to a
considerable extent.— For^sAire Post, August 20, 1879.

vii. Burning a TFtic^.— St. Petersburg, Oct. 27. — Seventeen peasants
have been tried for burning a supposed witch to death near Nijni-
Novgorod. All the prisoners were acquitted with the exception of
three, who were sentenced to Church penance. — Daily Telegraphy
Oct. 28, 1879.

viii. Witchcraft in Norfolk, 1879. — A local paper reports the fol-

308

NOTES.

lowing case of alleged witchcraft, whicli was recently heard at the
East Dereham petty seasioiia:— William Bulwor, of Etling-green, was
charged with assaiilting Christiana Martina, a young girl, who rcsidi'a
near the Etling-green toll-bar. Complaiiiant deposed that she was
sixteen years of age, and on Wednesday, the 2nd inst., the defendant
came to her and abused her. The complainant, who looked scarce
more than a child, repeated, despite the cfibrts of the magietrate's
clerk to etop her, and without being la the least abashed, some of
the worst language it was possible to conceive — convcraatioa of
the most gross description, alleged to have taken place between
herself and the defendant. They appeared to have got from words
to blows, and, while trying to fasten the gate, the defendant hit
her across the hand with a etick. She alleged that there was no
cause for the abuse and the assault, so far as she knew, and, in
reply to rigid cross-examination as to the origin of the q«an-ol,
adhered to this statement. Mrs. Susannah Oathercole also corrobo-
rated the statement as to the assault, adding that the defendant said
the complainant's mother was a witch. Defendant then blazed forth
in righteous indignation, and, when the witness said she knew no
more about the origin of the quarrel, he said; Mrs, Martins is an
old witch, gentlemen, that is what she is, and she charmed me, and I
got no sleep for her for three nights, and one night, at half-past elevea
o'clock, I got up because I eould not sleep, and went out and found a
'walking toad' under a clod that had been dug up with a three-
pronged fork. That is why I could not rest ; she is a bad old woman ;
she put this toad under there to charm me, and her daughter is just
as bad, gentlemen. She would bewitch any one ; she charmed me,
and I got no rest day nor night for her, till I found this ' walking
toad ' under the turf. She dug a hole and put it there to charm me,
gentlemen, that is the truth ; she is a bad old witch. I got the toad
ont, and put it in a cloth, and took it upstairs and showed it to my
mother and ' throwed ' it into the pit in the garden, I can hring it
.and show it to you, gentlemen. Mr. Hyde : What do yon say, she
bewitched you? Defendant: Yes, Sir. She went round this here
' walking toad ' ufter she had buried it ; and I could not rest by day

NOTES. 209

or sleep by night till I found it. She is a bad old witch, and is not
going to come it over me though. Her daughter is as bad as she is
and encourages her in it. The Bench : Do you go to church ?
Defendant : Spmetimes I goes to church and sometimes to chapel, and
sometimes I don't go nowhere. Her mother is bad enough to do
anything; and to go and put the "walking toad" in the hole like
that, for a man which never did nothing to her, she is not fit to live,
gentlemen ; to go and do such a thing, is not as if I had done any-
thing to her. She looks at lots of people, and I know she will do
some one harm. The Chairman : Do you know this man. Superin-
tendent Symonds? Is he sane? Superintend ant Symonds: Yes,
Sir, perfectly. Defendant : It is quite true, gentlemen, I showed the
toad to my mother, and I can bring it for you to see. The Chairman
said he was very sorry the defendant was so foolish as to believe such
rubbish, and he would be fined Is. and 125. ^d. costs. — The Eock, 25
April, 1879.

ix. Curious Superstition. — On some parts of the Tweed there is still a
belief amongst some illiterate persons in the power of fairies, who are
supposed to afi'ect the produce of the fisheries, and it is the custom of
these, not only to impregnate the nets with salt, but also to throw
some of that commodity into the water for the purpose of blinding
the mischievous elves, who are said to prevent the fish from falling
victims to the snares laid for them. This practice was observed
near Coldstream the other day, and, strange to say, the net when
drawn to land, instead of being empty, as usual, contained two fine
salmon. — Newcastle Daily Journal (March, 1879).

John George Fenwiok.

X. Milton Well-dressing. — The ninth anniversary of this popular
festival took place on Monday and Tuesday, June 23rd and 24th,
1879, in a large field near the church, admirably suited for the purpose
of giving full scope to the numerous and varied amusements provided
by the Committee. The wells were artistically dressed with choice
flowers, representing scenes and devices, mottoes, &c. &c. The pro-

VOL. II. P

210 NOTES.

cuseion started from tlio principnl wolt at oue o'clock each day,
headed by the Burakm Volunteer Band (whicU was engaged to play
for dancing), followed by the May Queeii, Maids of Honour, May-
pole dancers, &c. &c. May-pole dance oachday at four and seven p.in.
si. The Magic Mirror of Japan. — Profeseor Ayiton lectured last week
at tlie Royal Institution, hia subject being " The Magic Mirror of
Japan." In Japan there lij, he eaid, an absence of house walls, in-
terior and exterior, the houses consisting of a roof supported on only
n few posts inclosing very little but empty space, and sliding screens
alone divide off compartments. Why, in this comparative absence of
all that we should call furniture, does one article pertaining to the
ladies' toilette — the bronze miiTor with its stand — hold so prominent a
position? This mirror is nsnally circular, from 3 in. to 12 in. in diameter,
made of bronze, and with a bronze handle covered with bamboo. The
reflecting face is generally more or less convex, pohshcd with amercnry
amalgam, and the back is beautifully omamanted with a gracefully
executed raised design. Some for the mstic population have also polished
letters. The explanation of the fact that the mirror is almost far ex-
cellcnce the entire furniture is found partly in the elaborate head-
dresses of the Japanese ladies and the painting of their faces, and
partly from the belief, that, as the sword was " the soul of the
Samouri," ao is the mirror the '■ soul of woman." It therefore consti-
tuted the most valuable of all her possessiona, and two mirrors form
part of the tronsseau of every bride. The characteristic qualities of the
mirror must, it is believed, be in accordance with the constitution of
the possessor, and " second sight " is resorted to in the selection of a
mirror. But why is the mirror so important in the Imperial palace,
where the Court ladies, still preserving the fashion of old days, comb
back their hair in the simplest style? Why does the fortune-teller,
instead of looking at a girl's palm, regard the refiection Jn a mirror 7
Why, insteail of referring to the book of the recording angel, does
the Japanese Plato bring before the boatman his evil deeds reflected
in a mirror ? And why docs the mirror hold so important a place in
Japanese temples ? The mirror ranks far higher in Japanese history
than has been eopposed ; it, in fact, takes the place of the cross in

NOTES. 211

Christian countries. Professor Ayrton read the myth of the origin of
the worship of the mirror. The main points in it are that when gods
alone inhabited the earth the sun-goddess one day hurt her hand with
her shuttle, having been suddenly frightened by a practical joke of her
brother the god of the sea. She indignantly retired to a cave. Dark-
ness followed, and the goddess had to be appeased. The wisest of the
gods suggested making an image of her more beautiful than herself.
The Japanese Vulcan fashioned a mirror in the shape of the sun, and
all the gods laughed and shouted, " Here is a deity who surpasses even
your glory." Woman's curiosity could not stand this. The goddess
peeped out, and while admiring herself in the mirror was caught and
dragged out b^ a rice rope. The national traditions have it that this
sun-goddess (Amaterasu 6 mi Kami), sending her adopted grandson,
who was also the great-grandfather of the first Emperor of Japan, to
subdue the world, made him three presents : the maga-tama (the
precious stone, emblematical of the spirit of woman), the sword (em-
blematical of the spirit of man), and the mirror ( emblem of her
own soul). " Look,'* she said, " on this mirror as my spirit, keep
it in the same house and on the same floor with yourself, and worship
it as if you were worshipping my actual presence.*' — Times ^ 4 Febru-
ary, 1879.

xii. A Burmese Ceremony, — Mr. R. Hope Pilcher, junior secretary to
the Chief Commissioner in British Burmah, writing from Eangoon,
April 18, sends us, by dii'ection of the Chief Commissioner, the follow-
ing description of a ceremony which was held on Februaiy 7 last, near
the eastern frontier of the Akyab district, on the occasion of the
reconciliation of two clans or villages of the Chin (or Khyeng) tribe
named Bainbah and Mantin, between which a blood feud had pre-
viously existed. <* The description,'* Mr, Pilcher adds, " may perhaps
be valuable for ethnological purposes: — .... These pi^eliminaries

•

being completed, the ceremony of taking the oath of friendship was
carried out — a ceremony of a unique and peculiar character, of which
the following is a description : — At tJie foot of a Nyoung Bin, sup-
posed to be the residence of a ^ Nat,' a pot of khoung was placed half

Slfi NOTES.

baritil in Die curtli, In the oriRce of the pot Eome fresh leaves of
the troo wore placed, and through them, into the liqnor, were tlinist
two pijieB to duck with, a gun, a spear, a dah, alligators' teeth, tigers'
tuslcti, ami «oiiie bamboo etickg with notches, cats, and splits of «
mystic character. This being ready, one of the oldest of the Tonng-
min (hill chief) present billed a. small pig, cstracted its heart, and,
filling the pot with water, commenced a harangue invoking the
' Nat ' to poitr down his wrath on the two Mantin and Bainbah men
•itting by the pot, and cnnHo their destmction by any of the ways
inilicated by the diiferent articles thrust into the pot, if tliey bore
each other ill-will and did not remain friends thenceforth and for ever.
This iiivocrition being over, Mantin took np the pig's heart, and,
prciming a ilrop of blood from it into the liqnor, the two men ex-
changed words and commenced sucking up the liquor, adding more
water. After them two other rcpresentatiyeB of the two villages had
a suck, and then the different implements, &e. were removed, and all
the other Chins present began drinking (by suction) out of the same
pot and another one supplied for general use, and tliey all seemed to
enjoy the litiuor immensely, and the effects soon became apparent on
several of them. Some war-dances were performed, and we went
back to our camp the other side of the stream, and the Chins then
cooked the pig, ate, drank, and were merry. The khoung pots were
filled with fermented rice, to which water was added as required, and
the smell showed the mixture had no small intoxicating properties,
The oath thus administered is said to be most binding on Chins, and,

once taken, seldom, if ever, violated Note,' — 'Bin' is the

BurmoHB for tree. ' Nyoung ' includes a large number of the ficus
tribe. ' Nat' ia the Burmese word need to translate the Indian ' Dava.'
Originally it denotes a local divinity, often a Hamadryad. ' Khoung'
IB akindof rice-beer made ar.dused by the hill -tribes all over Burmah."
—Times, 23 May, 1879. Henry Aston Walker.

xiii. Sporting Ceremony (France). — The jtfonrfe describes a ceremony
once general among sportsmen, bnt now surviving only at Chantillj,
the Mass and Blessing of the Dog on St. Hubert's day, the Srd of

NOTES. 213

November. The degenerate race of sportsmen, the Monde complains,
imitate St. Hubert's cynegetic passion rather than his prodigies of
penitence, and consider the slaughter of an innocent rabbit equal to
the death of the mystical dragon overcome by the hero of the
Ardennes. The Due d'Aumale, however, keeps up the tradition, and
at four in the morning he and his guests assembled in the parish
church, where his chief huntsman, Hourvari, held in a leash Eabagas,
the oldest member of the pack. Gravely seated on the steps of the
altar, Eabagas seemed to receive with some surprise the holy water
and the Orleans cockade which was attached to his neck, but he
committed no indecorum like his predecessor Corbeau, who last year
devoured a wax candle. At the elevation of the host, the six hunts-
men sounded on the trumpet the blast of St. Hubert, and on leaving
the church they gave the " Reveil du Veneur," the " Conde," and the
" D' Orleans." At eleven o'clock the Orleans Princes and 300 guests
hunted a stag, which, after a fine chase, was despatched in the Comelle
Ponds.— TYmes, 5 Nov. 1879.

John Fenton.

xiv. An old Shrove Tuesday Custom. — My mother, who is an old
Nottinghamshire woman, between 70 and 80 years of age, tells me
that when she was a little girl it was a custom in the OUerton district
of Nottinghamshire to always give the first piece of the first pancake
to the cock. If the country folk who were dining were not in posses-
sion of fowls of their own, a piece of the first pancake was always
cut off as soon as cooked and carried by a child or some other person
to a cock belonging to some near neighbour. Dinner was never com-
menced till the cock had consumed the piece of pancake.

W. G. Smith.

XV. Chapbook Bibliography^ ante, vol. i. p. 244. — Allow me to cor-
rect an oversight on this subject, where it is said that Nisard's
Histoire des Livres populaires ou de la litterature du Colportage (2
vols. 8vo. Paris 1854) is the only complete history of foreign Chapbooks.
Nisard, of which a second edition, " considerabUment augmentie,** was

fil4 NOTES.

published in 186C, is a history of French Chapbooks only. Goeires
published at Heidelberg;, as long ago as 1807, a history of German
Chapbooka, Die Teutschen VolhbUcher, which contains notices of
forty-eight of them, many of which, of oonrse, illustrate our English
OhapbookB on the same Bubjects. M, N. B.

xn. Funeral Cuatom in Scotland. — It consists in placing the coffin
on a table, tables, or chairs at the door of the house before the proces-
sion moves. After the coffin is taken off for interment the chairs or
tables are placed upside down, and allowed to remain so for a consi-
derable time. This fonnitla was observed by the Rev. John Sterenaon,
of Glamis, at the funeral of one of tiie Earls of Aberdeen^ and it is
remarkable that such a coatom should be observed in a family which
might bo supposed to be above such superstition. W. G, Smith.

xvii. Bibliography of the Romance of Sir Tristem.— la vol. is, ot The
Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal AsitiUc Societg Dr. Edward
Tyrrel Leith describes at length the migration of the story of Sir
Tristem, and, as bibliographies of this nature are specially valuable, I
have compiled the following from l)r. Leith : —

^Fragment of Welsh poem said to be at leaat as old as tbe tenth century
[TrisUn mentioned in] . See translation in Appendix tn Scnti'a edition
of Sir TrJstrcra.

A Latin version by ItaBticiaudeFaiBB (1110-1120).

Manuscript in tlie Royal Library at PariB, pnTiliahed by Von der Hagen
(temp. Hichard I. John, or Henry III.) [From MichorB work.]

Lai da Cbeveretoil o£ Marie de franco, dating from rommencemctit of Ihe
thirteenth centnry. [From Michd'a work.]

Sir Walter Scott, Poetical Works of . EOinbnrgli,' Constable, 182/5. vol.ir.
From the Anehinlech MS. attribnted to the Scottish bard, Thomas of
Brcoldonne, in the thirteenth century.

Gottfried von Btraaaburg. Kpic of Tristan and Isolde. {Commencement of
the thirteenth centnry.)

nirich TOD Thurheim, continapd Gottfried abont 1250.

Heinrich yon Friberg, continaed Gottfried abont 1300.

Segehart von Bnnhemberg. A metrical version. (Latter half of the four-
teenth century.)

NOTES. 215

Eilhart von Oberge, a poet in the train of Henry the Lion. A fragment

only of the romance by this anthor now exists.
Morte d'Arthur. Books viii. ix. x. xii. Compiled from the old Freneh

writers by Sir Thomas Malory, and first printed by Caxton in 1485.
Hans Sachs. The Tragedy of the strong loye of Sir Tristrant for the fair

Qneen Isalde. 1553.
Bnesching nnd Yon der Hagen. Bnch der Liebe. Berlin, 1809. (A col-
lection of old romances from the sixteenth centnry.)
Von Groote. Tristan, von Meister Grotfrit von Strassbnrg, mit der Fort-

setznng des Meisters Ulrich yon Thnrheim. Berlin, 1821.
Mone. Einleitnng in C. yon Groote*s Ansgabe yon Tristan nnd Isolde.

Also Ueber die Sage yon Tristan, &c. Heidelberg, 1822.
Francisqne Michel. Tristan, recneil de ce qni reste des poemes relatifs k

ses ayentnres, &c. Londres, 1835.
Immerman. Tristan nnd Isolde, &c. Dnesseldorf, 1841.
Kurtz. Tristan nnd Isolde. Gredicht yon Gottfried yon Strassbnrg. Stntt-

gart, 1847.
Simrock. Tristan nnd Isolde, yon Gottfried yon Strassbnrg. Leipsig, 1855,
Lndwig Schneegans. Tristan, Tranerspiel, &c. Leipsig, 1865.
Welsh Triads (down to the seyenth centnry) [Tristan mentioned in]. See

The Myvyrian Archfleology of Wales.
Manuscript in the Library of Bern. [From Michel's work.]
Two fragments of Douce (mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in his edition of

Sir Tristrem). [From Michel's work.]
Extract from Le Donnez des Amans, in a MS. of Sir Thomas Phillipps.

[From Michel's work.]

This list is very imperfect of course, not being obtained from
original sources. But printing it as it stands may bring some cor-
rective notes and some additional information. What is wanted in each
case is an exact bibliographical title for each volume quoted. At all
events, it is a step, even if a faint one, in the direction of gathering
together such important facts as are here indicated.

Q. L. GOMME.

xviii. The Crow and the Fox (ante, vol. i. p. 238). — These lines
are simply a metrical paraphrase of one of ^sop's Fables, the only
difference being that in -^sop the crow takes a piece of cheese from a
cottage window instead of the crust from a pedlar's pack.

Geo. L. Apperson.

QUERIES.

iComvtH-iiiaatiotia/ar t/ifte column* thiuld If aidrcHed to tlw Hon Secretary.']
i. The arcana of Night.— The Fall Mail Gazette of lOth Jtdy,
1879, contains a critique on " Travels with a Donkey in the
Cevennee," by Robert Louis Stevenson, and the following extract
from the work is quoted, " What seoniB a kind of temporal death
to people choked between walls and curtains is only a light and
living slumber to the man who sleeps afield. All night long he
can hear nature breathing deeply and freely ; even as she takes her
rest she turns and smiles, and there is one stirring hour unknown
to those who dwell in houses when a wakeful influence goes abroad
and all the outdoor world are on their feet. It is then that the
cock first crowB, not this time to announce the dawn, but, like a
cheerful watchman, speeding the course of night. Cattle awake in
the meadows ; sheep break their fast on dewy hiU-eides and change
to a new lair among the ferns ; and houseless men, who have lain
down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of

the night Even shepherds and old country folk, who are

the deepest read in these arcana, have not a guess as to the means or
purpose of this nightly resurrection. Towards two in the morning
they declare the thmg takes place, and neither know nor inquire
further." This description is extremely interesting, i have often
witnessed the phenomenon, but have never seen it described. About
two hours before the break of day a restless spirit seems to pervade
the whole anima! race, and with humanity it is the time when
physical and moral courage are at their lowest ebb. A strange
feeling of depression comes over us, and the vital powers are painfully
languid. Now it is that those who watch beside the beds of dying
men observe the first symptoms of impending dissolution, though
death does not usually take place before dawn. The accuracy of these
observations has been lately confirmed to me by a distinguished
medical man, who has long been aware of the facts ahove-mentioaed, .

QUERIES. 217

but cannot accoant for them. Perlifips some of the readers of the
Folk-Lore Record can supply some information on this subject.

F. G.

ii. Legend of Parsloe^ Essex, — I have been on the look-out for many
years for a remarkable legend connected with Parsloe, near Romford,
the old seat of the Fanshaws, concerning an ancestor of the family who
for some reason is condemned at certain times to drive about, headless
himself, in a carriage drawn by headless horses. Can any Essex
member of the Folk- Lore Society supply further particulars ?

M. N. S.

iii. Royal Superstition. — Can any of the members refer me to the
origin of the following ? "In the twelfth year of Eang Stephen he
wore his crown during Christmas at Lincoln, which no king, from
some superstitious feeling, had before ventured to do."— 51wiry of
Huntingdon^ bk. viii. See Notes and Queries, 5th ser. xii. p. 490.

G. L. GOMME.

iv. The House that Jack 5tii7<.— Can any member, tell me the origin
or history of "The House that Jack built?" I have asked several
gentlemen versed in literature, and who were likely to be interested
in folk-lore, but can obtain no information from them. In a little
book entitled Service for the First Nights in Passover, a poem is
introduced so like the one in question that I think they must be con-
nected in some way. The latter begins with " One only kid which
my father bought for two zuzine," and then goes on with the feats of
the cat, dog, staff, fire, water, ox, which last is slain by the angel of
death; " then came the Most Holy, blessed be He, who slew the angel
of death ; " when the series goes back regularly to the " One only kid
which my father bought for two zuzine." The author (Rev. A. P.
Mendes) says, "this poem is generally regarded as a parable, de-
scriptive of incidents in the history of the Jewish nation, with some
reference to prophecies yet unfulfilled." — Service of the First Nights
of Passover according to the Custom of the German and Polish Jews,
(By the Rev. A. P. Mendes.) Eliza Bbll.

BOOKS ON FOLK-LORE LATELY PUBLISHED.

It IB EtdTiBable that members of the Society should have their atten-
tion drawn to works on folk-lore which have been issued during the
year; and it is well to put on record, in oar yearly volume, any notes
that refer to the doings of the students of folk-lore beyond tlio range
of the Society. One of the objects of the Society is to encuurage the
study and the collection of folk-lore, and certainly it le not an unim-
portant indication of the encouragement thus affoi-ded to bring iuto
notice the books published during the year. Let it be observed, how-
ever, that these notices are simply intended to give a general idea as
to the subject and worth of each book, not a detailed and critical

(1) By Members of the Society.
i. Demonology and Devil-Lore. By Monouro Daniel Conway, M.A,

With numerous illustrations, (Cbatto and Windus, 1879.)

[Vol. i. pp. xvi. 428: vol. ii. pp. xii. 472.]
This book, considered in the light of a great collection from all
parts of the world of faiths, beliefs, and superstitions connected with
demons, devils, and the like, must be very welcome to the student of
folk-lore. Mr. Conway had prepared himself for' the task by
gradual approaches to his subject, only towards the last fully realizing
how much there was to collect and how much there was to say about
his collection. He placed himself outside all such faiths and beliefs
before he began to comment upon them and study them, and this
position, in one sense greatly enhances the value of his work.

The book is divided into four parts. The first part, entitled
" Demonolatry," treats of the genesis of demons, and points out the
difference between demon and devil. We then have a chapter on
the degradation of deities which is indicated in their names and la

NOTICES AND NEWS. 219

still-existing legends of their fall ; and here is quoted the familiar
tradition of Wayland the Smith, who in Scott's romance is a mere
impostor, though the character to which he makes pretence belongs
to the genuine Teutonic legend. Deities became degraded also and
demonized by conquest — the conquering people adopting the deities
of the conquered as demons.

In the next part, devoted to <Hhe Demon,'' we have a classification
of demons, which Mr. Conway arranges according to the evils which
mankind has had to contend against in all ages. Thus then are
demons of heat, cold, and the elements ; animal demons, indicating
the animal power to harm mankind ; man-demons from hostile tribes
or countries ; demons of hunger and famine, darkness, disease, and
death ; and demons arising from natural obstacles, such as mountains,
rocks, &c., and from illusions, such as Will-o'-the-Wisp.

The third part treats of the decline of the demons and the rise of
" the Dragon." This deals with dragon superstitions and traditions
from all parts of the world, and the portions especially mentioning
the dragons of Great Britain might be usefully compared with the
chapter devoted to dragons in Mr. Henderson's Folk-Lore of the
Northern Counties,

The fourth part, dealing with " the Devil," occupies the whole of
the second volume. We have the devil distinguished from the dragon
of the preceding part, and then the questions of new gods diabolized,
Ahriman, the divine devil, Visw^mitra, the theocratic devil, paradise
and the serpent, Adam and Eve, and the whole Hebrew traditions of
the devil treated of at some length. Finally witchcraft and the legends
of the Wild Huntsmen are brought to bear upon the question of
devil-lore.

The book is illustrated throughout with many useful wood-cuts
from sources not easily accessible, and there is a fairly good index.
Although many of the theories and much of the comment with which
Mr. Conway has surrounded his facts may not be acceptable to
students, the book is a great storehouse of new facts and extensive
researches, and altogether makes a valuable contribution to folk-lore
material.

220

NOTICES AND NEWS.

ii, British Goblins: Welsh Folk-Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends, and
Traditiona. By Wirt Sikea. With Illustrations by T. H. Thomas.
(London: Sampson Low and Co., 1880.) [1 vol, pp. xvi. 412.]

This work seeks to bring Welsh folk-lore within the reach of the
student of comparative folk-lore. Now and again, indeed, the author
himself turns aside to show some of the paths which lead from Wclst
to comparative folk-lore; bnt, strictly speaking', his work deals with '
Welsh folk-lore only, and the collection now placed before I
student is both uaefd and extensive. Mr. Sikes, the United States (
Consul, it appears, loves Wales and the Welsh BnfBciently well to
have devoted some of his time to wandering among " the people" and
collecting their superstitions and their legends. He divides his work
into four books : Book I. The Realm of Faerie, II. The Spirit World.
Ill, Quaint Old Customs. IV, Bells, Wells, Stones, and Dragons.

As the aiTaagement of materials for folk-lore books has now
become so clearly a matter of concern to the student, it is well to
notice how Mr. Wirt Sikes deals with his material. " The fairies of
Wales," he says, "may be divided into five classes, if analogy be not
too sharply insisted on. Thus we have: 1. The Ellyllon, or elves;
2. The Coblynau, or mine fairies; 3. The Bwbachod, or household
fairies; i. The Gwragedd Annwn, or fairies of the lakes and streams;
and 5. The Gwyllion, or mountain fairies." Mr. Sikes proceeds to
tell all he knows and has learnt about these fairies. In particular,
he not-es Shakespeare's peculiar knowledge of Welsh folk-lore in
several instances.

The Welsh spirit-world is treated equally exhaustively as the realm
of faerie. The phantoms are always picturesque, they are often
ghostly ; sometimes they are amusing to the point of risibility, bnt
besides they are instructive to him whose purpose in studying is to
know (p. 138). In treating of customs, says Mr. Sikes, no other classi-
fication is useful than their arrangement in orderly sequence in two
divisions ; first those which pertain to certain days and seasons ;
second, those relating to the most conspicuous events in common
human life, courtship, marriage, and death (p. 252). Accordingly
under this classification Welsh quaint old customs are arranged. The

NOTICES AND NEWS. 22 1

plan cannot, perhaps, be objected to as it follows that adopted by most
authors dealing with customs and superstitions ; and therefore becomes
more ready for comparison with the customs of other places. But the
time has certainly come when the whole subject of arrangement and
classification must be discussed and settled upon a properly ascer-
tained basis.

Among the most curious of Welsh wedding customs is that of
horse-weddings, a relic of the bride-lifting of primitive man. But in
attempting to explain the origin of this Mr. Sikes altogether misses its
importance when he refers the Welsh survival to a Roman origin sug-
gested by the well-known Rape of the Sabines. The Welsh horse-
wedding and the Roman Rape of the Sabines are more nearly con-
nected than by the unwelcome origin of conqueror imposing upon
conquered— the two customs belong to that primitive Aryan world
from which Roman and Welsh alike came. The division devoted
to bells, wells, stones, and dragons is valuable, as it brings together
much useful information not otherwise procurable. If Mr. Sikes,
however, had dived a little deeper into primitive life, he would have
found other theories for the origin of many of these customs than
those advanced. The stone chair, mentioned in page 362, for instance,
should have been compared with that engraved by Mr. Stuart in
Proceedings of the Society oj Antiquaries of Scotland, and referred to
a very primitive political custom — all the more valuable now because
the Scotch instance has found a parallel from Wales.

iii. Folk-Lore : or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland
within this Century, By James Napier, F.R.S.E. F.C.S. &c.
(Paisley : Alex. Gardner, 1879) [1 vol. pp. vii. 190.]

Mr. Napier gives an interesting account of " some of those super-
stitions now either dead or in their decadence, but which, within the
memory of persons now living, had a vigorous existence in the west of
Scotland." His book is the more valuable that it is not a compilation
pierely, but the result of personal observation and intercourse for the
past sixty years with friends and neighbours. These beliefs and obser-
vances he has compared, in many instances, with those of other parts

222 NOTICES AND KEW8.

of Scotland and other comitries generally, and he has endeavoured t
trace their origin and development from Pagan to Protestant timoa'!
The work comprises chapters on Birth and Childhood, Marriage,
Death, WiteLcraft, Second Sight and the Black Art, Charms, Divi-
ning, Superstitions relating to animals and plants. There is also an
Appendix on the different festivals, showing th^ probable relation of
the modern feast-day to ancient sun and hre worship as exemptiScd by
the Yule and Beltane festivities. The chapter on mairiage ^ves some
interesting particulars of that ceremony, and that on charms andJ
counter- charms is equally vaiuahle. The book is clearly writteuj
and there is also the advantage of a good index

(2) Bv NoN-MEMliEns OF THE SOCIETY

i. Folk-Lore Journal. Edited by the Working Committee of the Sout4
African Foik-Lore Society, Vol. I.; parts i. ii. iij. Iv. Janaar
to July, 1879; pp. iv. 97. (Cape Town: Darter Brothers i
Walton, London: David Nutt.)
In the first volume of the Folk-Lore Recoi-d it was announced tl
Miss Lloyd would probably start a periodical devoted to Bnshia
Hottentot, and Kaflir Folk-Lore. This plan has now happily bee
carried out under the auspices of a newly formed " South AfricaaJ
Folk-Lore Society," Four parts of the first volume of the Folk-Lortm
Jownal, as the periodical has been christened, have been printed, andfl
these parU contain some very valuable materials. There are tew^
folk-tales, namely, " The Story of Long Snake," giving some i
portant details of the Kaffir manners of courtship ; " The Lion i
the Ostrich," a piece of native literature in Setshnana ; A " Nurseryi
Tale" of the Batlakn tribe, a version of a frequently repeated talo •*
in which a bird comes to the assistance of children whose lives are
endangered by the attack of one or more cannibals; " Ulusamuia,"
a boy dehverer, about whom no other stories ore known ; "Story of ■■
Little Red Stomach," who is swallowed by an animal (which usuallyj
lives in water) and who survives and lives for an indefinite time aftetJ^
wards; " Story of Five Heads," when the hero, a snake, is married toSJ
yonng girl, thereby giving some marriage customs ; " The story o

NOTICES AND NEWS. 223

Dam " from the Hottentots; " The Romance of Unyengebule;" " News
from Zululand,** a legend believed to refer to the event which took place
on 22 Jan. 1879, a few miles from Rorke's Drift; and " The Story of
Ngangezwe and Mnyamana," one of the many stories to be met with
all over the world, relating the jealousy of a stepbrother and step-
mother of a king's eldest son and the ultimate triumph of the hero.

Besides these there are some contributions to the customs and
superstitions of South Africa. It was always reported that the
Basuto had no gods, but from a remarkable passage in the diary of a
Berlin missionary this is shown to be an error. The ^' customs and
superstitions among the Betshu&na " are detailed, and an account is
given of the curious ceremony of Dipheku, a kind of yearly sacrifice
which is intended to protect the tribe from all the ills which might befall
it during the year. One part is specially devoted to some of the customs
of the Ovaherero, and we have a valuable collection relating to customs
at birth, circumcision, filing of the teeth, shaving of the head, fasten-
ing of the false hair, betrothal, marriage, death, burial, sacrifice of
the deceased, customs performed at graves, and resurrection.

Considering the many difficulties which attend the production of
these journals — difficulties which begin with the first great essential,
namely, the want of means for printing, the South African Folk-Lore
Society is to be congratulated upon its success and thanked for its
endeavours. Communications from the lips of the aborigines, written
down in their own language and words, and accompanied by a trans-
lation in English, must be of enormous value to the students of
comparative folk-lore, for the benefit of whose branch of science,
says the preface to the first part, the journal is chiefly intended.*

ii. Old Celtic Romances. Translated from the Gaelic. By P. W.
Joyce, LL.D., T.C.D., M.R.I.A. (London : C, Kegan Paul
and Co. 1879.) [1 vol. pp. xx. 420.]

In the preface to this most interesting collection of folk-tales, Dr.
Joyce has done what all collectors should do if they want their works

♦ Members of the Society desirous of subscribing for the South African Folk'
Lore Journal should communicate with Mr. Nutt, 270, Strand.

224 NOTICES AND HEWS.

to find a place in the Btndent's library as well as in the nursery— he
has explained at length the eources from which his mnterials have
been obtained. Thus the eleven tales here giTen to the public, practi-
cally for the first time, are selected and translated from the manii-
scripte of Trinity College and o! the Royal Irish Academy. These
old manuscripts represent the link, and a most important one too, he it
ohserred, hetween the original professional storyteller and the literary
reproduction of modem times. They are older than the printing era
and not so old as the traditional story-telling era ; and a careful com-
parison and collation of different MSS. is a work to be welcomed
most highly by folk-lore students. It settles at once any question
of literary adaptation from one country to another, la Dr. Joyce
quite right, however, in saying that this book is "the first collection
of the old Gaelic prose romances that has erer been published in fair
English translation 1 " For there exists a little volume, not too ex-
tensively known, it is true, but still fully recognised by students of
folk-tales, namely, Patrick Kennedy's Fire-Side Stoi-iss of Ireland,

Dr. Joyce gives the following stories : — " The Fate of the Children
ofLir, orthe Four White Swans;" "The Fate of the Children of
Turenu, or the Quest for the Eric- Fine ;" " The overflowing of Lough
Noagh, and the Story of Lilian the Mermaid ;" " Connla of the Golden
Hair and the Fairy Maiden ;" " The Voyage of Maiidun ;" " The
Fairy Palace of the Quicken Trees ;" '' The Pursuit of the Gilln Backer
and his Horse ;" " The Pursuit of Dermat and Crania;" " The Chase
of Slieve Cullinn ;" " The Chase of Slieve Fuad ;" and " Oisin in
Timanoge, or the Last of the Feni." These stories do not, perhaps,
lead so thoroughly into the realms of comparative folk-lore as the
generality of the folk-tales, being chiefly derived from quasi-historical
personages of ancient Ireland. But the work of comparison must be
accomplished before absolutely saying that the form of these stories is
not older than ancient Erin. They most undoubttidly contain an old
stratum of the primitive folk-talo — the talking pony, the transforma-
tion of children into swans, the magic cliio of thread, and other
characteristics being specially noticeable. As they stand, also, they
afford many glimpses into archaic life and manners. There is that

NOTICES AND NEWS. 225

fairy-land so common to all branches of popular mythology ; there are
descriptions of some very primitive political institutions— some old
meeting-places and popular assemblies for example ; there is the pre-
valence of the most favonrite amusement of the ancient Irish chiefs,
the game of chess (already noticed in the story of Conn-eda, antey
page 184), and many other glimpses into primitive life which cannot
now be mentioned. Dr. Joyce has also added a list of proper names,
with their original Gaelic forms and their meanings, to make the whole
work a most acceptable addition to folk-lore libraries.

iii. Popular Romances of the Middle Ages. By Sir George W. Cox,
M.A., Bart., and Eustace Hinton Jones. Second edition, (C.
Kegan Paul and Co. 1880.) [1 vol. pp. viii. 514.]

The re-appearance of this old favourite is sure to be welcomed.
What has been said, however, in the previous notice relative to the
necessity of collating all the old manuscripts of popular romances, is
all the more applicable in the present case. One of the most fitting
tasks for members of the Society to work upon would be to take Sir
George Cox's book in hand and thoroughly examine the literary
sources of his collection, both English and foreign. The result of
such an examination would give a bibliographical study of great value.
There are no hints upon this subject in the preface to this volume, such
as were so gladly welcomed in Dr. Joyce's Old Celtic Romances, We
are only told that " the tales are partly found in books not easily
accessible ;" but what should be made known to the student of folk-lore
is — what are the books here mentioned; where are they to be found;
and from what sources were they printed.

For medisBval romances have their special folk-lore value, as well as
the early tales. They frequently contain many important survivals of
olden-time institutions and customs, and often themselves can be traced
to an olden-time original. The story of Sir Tristrem, for example, has
been thus traced by Dr. Edward Tyrrel Leith in the Journal of the
Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (see vol. ix. pp. 101-133),
perhaps not altogether satisfactorily, but still with sufficient skill and
learning to make one thankful for the attempt and its result. And

VOL. II. Q

S86 NOTICES AND NEWS.

again the mcdieeral romaiice has the same snrt of career as the primitive
folk-tale. It lives not by the influence of literature, but by the influ-
ence of popular upprociation. It grows np, may bo, by accretion, eneh
vor«i<in guiiiiiig something more of the popular life, and now and again
Bomething of an old story that has thus lived to find a Lome under a
mediKval hero instead of a mythological.

Sir Groorge Cox's volume however contains, as is well known, other
stories than those properly belonging to medissval heroes. The stories
of Beowulf, of the Volsungs, the Nibelung, and Burnt Njal are known
to all students of early Tentonio and Scandinavian history. They
were popular iu the middle ages, aa they are popular now, because they
represented what was passed aiid gone.

IT. Teutonic Mythology. By Jacob Grimm. Translated from the
fourth edition, with Notes and Appendix, by James Steven
Stallybrass, vol. i. pp, viii. 437. (W. Swan, Sonnenschein, and
Allen, 1880).
Eeitiemberiug moat vividly the delight with whidi, more (ban forty
years ago, we cut the leaves and worked our way, as well as we could,
through the first edition of Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie^ those who
will make their first acquaintance with this treasure-house of folk-
lore, through the English version of it by Mr. Stallybrass, of which the
first volume is now issued, are almost to be envied their pleasure. It
will be in three volumes, like the fourth edition of the original, of
which the last volume has not been issued many months. Upon the
death of Jacob Grimm, the superintendence of this fourth edition
was entrusted by bis family to Professor E. H. Meyer, of Berlin,
who has included in it such additional matter as the author had
collected in his Note Books for future use. We are glad to see,
too, that the Appendix, consisting of a short treatise on the Anglo-
Saxon Genealogies and the colloctiou of Superstitions of the Teutonic
nations, which formed so marked a feature in tlie first edition, will be
included jn this ; for the satisfaction with which we received the second
edition and found the text enlarged from 680 to just upon 1,200
pages was diminished when we missed the Appendix, which Mr.

NOTICES AND NEWS. 227

Stallybrass is in error in supposing did appear in such second edition.
The translator in his short and intelligent preface announces two or
three modifications in the arrangement of the book, which will we
have no doubt meet the approval of English readers — two will cer-
tainly do so, namely, the addition of a full classified Bibliography,
and an accurate and detailed index to the whole work. Though
the 42 columns of index to the 1835 edition have in the fourth
edition been extended to 64, it has no claim to be considered a
** detailed " index.

The work is fittingly dedicated to Professor Max Miiller, who, when
the Society first thought of undertaking the translation, took so much .
interest in the good work as to promise a translation of some of the
chapters himself, even though his labours in other fields were so great.*

V. Basque Legends: Collected, chiefly in the Labourd, by Rev.
Wentworth Webster, M.A. With an Essay on The Basque
Language, by M, Julian Vinson. Together with Appendix:
Basque Poetry. Second edition. (London : Griffith and Farran,
1879.) [1 vol. pp. xvi. 276.]

This second edition was much wanted, and besides the original
material in the first edition an appendix has been added upon Basque
Poetry. Everything in connection with the Basques is most valuable
to the student of primitive man. Almost alone among European
people, they represent in language and customs a period of European
history which is far behind the literary era. These legends have
been collected from those who knew the Basque language only, and
the author has compared some of them to stories in Miss Frere's Old
Deccan DaySy CampbelFs Popular Tales of the West Highlands, and
other well-known works. But the work of comparison could be very
easily extended and indeed ought to be done thoroughly with all these
collections of primitive world lore. Turning to Patrick Kennedy's

* It shonld be remembered that the publishers, Mr. Sonnenschein being a
member of the Society, kindly consented to allow members of the Society to
purchase this book at ten shillings instead of twelve, the ordinary publishing
price.

228 NOTICES AND NEWS.

Fireside Stories of Ireland, for instance, there is " The Lazy Beauty "
on all fours with " The Pretty but Idh Girl " of the Basquft, and a
tale in the Chapbnok Jlibemian Tales, "Tlie Farmer and his Ser-
vant," quadrates with "The Three Brothers, the Cruel Master and
Matron." The etory of Peau d'Ane, too, is here. But, besides the
materiaia for comparison, there are the materials for tracing out sur-
TiTals of aiclmic life and institatious in these Basque legends. The
book is, however, already too well known to need any further com-
ment.

We 1

ave been favoured by Dr. Liebrecht with some observations
Booietj and its first publication, which are to the following

" We see from the liat of memhers that the Folk- Lore Society in-
cludes a goodly show of English literati of note. We have a right,
therefore, to assume that, if the participation of the members be some-
thing more than the payment of their nubaoriptiona, the Society will
eventually take up an important position in this department o!
literature.

" The first volume opens with ' Some West Sussex Superstitions,'
Amongst the superstitious notions there mentioned very many are
known elsewhere, aa well as in other provinces of England. It is of
importance, however, to note the differences which appear in their
separate versions. As Mrs. Latham does not enter into any com-
parisons with the superstitions existing in other countries, we will
adduce some of these resemblances ;— In regard to the magpie (18),
there is still a magpie cultus in Porton, where it is usual to tie a
bunch of heather or laurel upon the top of a high tree * to honour the
magpie,' because the bird by its cry warns the inhabitants of the
approach of the wolf. To kill a magpie brings great misfortune.
This must have reference to its sanctity; in other words, its divinity.
Other magpie beliefs from Norway are given in my recent book, Zur
volkshtnde. The egg superstition (23) is found in Germany, Hol-
land, and Portugal, To rock an empty cradle (35) is in many
places forbidden, even in China, but different reasons are assigned.

NOTICES AND NEWS. 229

(69.) Of a peasant who had murdered his wife, it is said in a Swedish
tale that he was turned into a cuckoo by our Lord as he was once
walking about with S, Peter, and to the present day he retains his
murderous nature. (83.) Lucretius gives another reason (4, 986).
(85) is also a Swedish and Irish superstition. (103.) Compare Wuttke,
Der deutsche volksaberglaube, (US*) Thorburn (^Bannu, or our
Afghan Frontier) heard the mother of a child who had quinsy say,

* 1*11 go out on the road to-morrow, and ask the first horseman I
see riding a grey horse what remedy to apply, and whatever he says
I'll do.' (127.) A prayer against toothache. A similar prayer is
found in Wuttke from Westphalia and in Liege. (128.) This refers
to a symbolical new birth. (See my observations on * Gervase of Tilbury,'
and in Zur volkskunde,) (140, 141.) These are founded on the
great homseopathic idea that what hurts also cures (see Zur volks-
kunde), (193.) This is also a Norwegian superstition (see Zur
volkskunde), according to which even the hens have a so-called

* unrest feather* on their body. (194.) The idea lying at the bottom
of these superstitions I have discussed in the Zur volkskunde, (195.)
This belief is found elsewhere (see Grimm's Deutsche Myth, &c.
&c.) Notes on Folk Tales— This essay is in the highest degree
worth reading. The tale of * Susa No and the Oroche ' (Some Japan
Folk Tales) is found in Campbell's Circular Notes. A folk-tale
of the Hidatsa Lidians — see my Zur volkskunde (Three Souls.)
Mr. Thoms's paper — the third point (Saint Peter's Sextus) remains
unexplained. Plant-Lore Notes, No. 64; the warning against nutting
is in other countries more explicitly given, as it is meant against
levity of conduct, for which the nutting season gave occasion. Divi-
nation by the Blade-bone — to the authorities add Tylor's Primitive
Culture, Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, Giraldus Cambrensis, Itin,
Cambrice, Capt. Raverty's Selections of the Poetry of the Afghans,
Jaubert's Idrisi, Some Italian Folk-Lore — in Campbell's Tales of
the Highlands, the slipper is of glass. TTie Merry Dun of Dover— the
author's query is answered by reference to Miillenhof s ^Sagen, ^c.
aus Schleswig-holstein und Lauenberg,^ No. 323 ; the very same
incident occurs in a story there given."

230

NOTICES AND SEWS-

Mr. James Britten, F.L.8. is carrying out liis iutfintion of indexing
the Polk-Lore uontributiona to Notes and Queries, and the Bev.
Charles Swainann has kindly promisod to assist in the work.

Mr. 0. Pfoundea, a member of the Society, ia preparing a volume
on The Fott-Lore of Old Japan: a Budget of Notes about Nipon,
which Messrs. Griffith and Farran will publish at an early dote. Mr.
Pfoundes has resided for oyer twelve years with the Japanese people,
and has lived the native life amongst the intelligent better class in that
country. Adopting that which is beat in the classifications of the
leaiiing folk-lore authorities, Mr. Pfoundes does not profess to make
an exhaustive collection, but simply to give under each heading the
moat characteristic illustrations derived froni the native literature.

Mr, Robert Charles Hope, a member of the Society, is going to
publish by private subscription a reprint of The Popish Kitigdome :
or, Beigne of Antichrist, written in Latin verse by Thomas Naogeorgus,
and englyahed by Barnabe Googe. 1570. Of this exceedingly rare
and curious work only one perfect copy is known to exist, via. that in the
Cambridge University Library, from which this reprint is taken. To
the student of philolo^ry and folk-lore this work is invalnable. Both
Brand and Hone quote largely from it, and the account which it con-
tains of popular and other superstitions, particularly those relating to
saints' days, is unuaually interesting. Intending subscribers should
widress Mr. Hope, at Albion Crescent Villa, Scarborough.

Mr, Fnrnivall has reprinted book iv. of The Popish Kingdome as
an appendix to one of his publications for the New Shakspere Society.

The Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science,' &c.
Las (ippointed a committee, consisting of Mr. P. F. S. Amery, Mr. G.
Doe, Mr. R. Dymond, Rev. W. Harpley, Mr. P. 0. Karkeek, and Mr.
J, Brooking Rowe, for the purpose of collecting notes on Devonshire
Folk-Lore. Four Reports have already been issued.

Messrs. W. Satchel!, Peyton, and Co. are publishing a volume of
Tuscan Tales collected from the peasantiy.

Mr. Whitley Stokes has recently printed at Calcutta, for private
cirenlation, a volume of India/a Fairy Tales, containing thirty stories,
the greater part of which were told in Hinddstiini by native servants

NOTICES AND NEWS. 231

to his daughter, Miss M. 8. H. Stokes, and afterwards written down
in English by that very young lady, and excellently annotated by the
late Mrs. Stokes. The book, which is full of instruction as well as
interest, will probably be published here before long, edited, with a
prefatory essay on the connection of Indian with European folk-tales,
by Mr. W. R. S. Ralston. It is to be hoped also that Mr. Murray
will soon publish a new edition of Miss Frere's Old Deccan Days, that
delightful work being now out of print.— ^iAen^wem.

The Council have decided to issue The Folk-Lore Record in future
in two half-yearly parts instead of a yearly volume. They think that as
this publication is the chief means of intercommunication between mem-
bers, and will contain some of the papers read at the Evening Meetings,
current news on folk-lore, notes, queries, and general announcements,
the new plan will be found more acceptable to the members than the
present method. The parts will be issued in paper covers.

By the wish of many members, the Council have arranged for four
meetings of the Society for the reading and discussion of papers, to be
held at the rooms of the Royal Asiatic Society, 22, Albemarle Street,
at eight o'clock, on Tuesday, 9th December, 1879 ; Tuesday, 10th
February, 1880; Tuesday, 9th March, 1880; and Tuesday, 13th
April, 1880. The paper read on Tuesday, the 9th December, was
" Catskin, the English and Irish Peau d*Ane," by Henry Charles
Coote, Esq. F.S. A. ; and papers for the other meetings will be duly
announced. Members may introduce, personally or by card, non-
members of the Society to the above meetings.

The publication for the year 1878 was —

THE FOLK-LORE RECORD, Part L

CONTAUnNG

Some West Snssex Snperstdtdons lingering in 1868. By Mrs. Latham.
Miscellaneons : —

Notes on Folk-Tales. By W. R. S. Ralston, M.A.

The Folk-Lore of France. By A. Lang, M.A,

Some Japan Folk-Tales. By C. Pfoundes.

A Folk-Tale and varions superstitions of the Hidatsa Indians. Communi-
cated by Dr. E. B. Tylor.

Chaucer's Night-Spell. By William J. Thorns, F.S.A.

Plant-Lore Notes to Mrs. Latham's West Sussex Superstitions. By James
Britten, F.L.S.

232

NOTICES AND NEWS.

Yarkahire Lot.'al HlijnioB ami Sayings.

Divination bj tho Bliule-bnoe. By Wiiliuin J. Thoius, F.S.A.

Index to the Folk-Loro io tin; First Siiricauf Ilanlwitke'a " Scieni'o-
By Jtinies Britten, F.L.S.

Somu Italian Folk-Loro. By Henrj Charles Coote, F.S.A.

Wart and Wen Cnraa. By James Uarily.

Fairies at Bkley Wells. By Charles C. Smith.

Note a, Qneties, Notices end News.
The issues for 1879 are—
Notes on the Tolk-Lore of the Northern Conntiea of England and the Bordca«.

By William Henderson. A new edition with considerable additions by the

Author. (Pabliehed for the Society at 12«. by Messrs. W. Satchell, Peyton,

and Co. Tayistock Street, Coyent Gorden.)
Anbrey's RemaioB of Qentilisme and Jodaisme, with the ndditiona by Dr. White

Rennet. Edited by James Britten, F.L.S.
The Folk-Lore Record, toI. ii. (with the Annnul Report for 1878).

Tlie issues for 1880 will be selected fron
are advanced) : —

The Denhaoi Tracts. To be edited by James Hardy.
Folk-Liire and Provincial Names of British Bu'ds. By tho Boverend Charles

Swainaon.
Notes on the Fulk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland. By the Bereiend Walter

Gregor.
Together with —
The Folk-Loro Eecord, vol. i

Other works are in octivt
ing:—

The Bibliography of Folk-Lore, Compiled and edited by Thomas SalchelL
Excerpts from two Eariy-Englisli Folk-Lorists.
Notes for a History of English Chapbooks and Fenny Uistories.
East Snnsex Snperstitions. By tho KevMend W. D. Parish.
Folk-Medicine. By William George Black.
The Merry Tales of the Wise Men of Gotham. To be edited, with illaEtratiTe

Notes and an Introductory Essay on English Notidledom, by WiUiam J,

Thoma, F.S.A.
The Folk-Lora of Lincolnshire. By Edward Peacock, F.S.A.
The Folk-Lore contained in the Gentleman's Magazine. By G. Laurenoft I

Gomme, F.S.A.
Indus to the FoIk-Lore in '
On Madagascar Folk-Lore.
British Eairies.
The Folk-Lore contiuned in the Statistical Accounts of Scotland.

1 the following (al! of which i

half-yearly parts),
e preparation. They iuclnde the follow-]

^otos and Queries." By James Britten, F.L.S.
By the Heverend J. Sibree.

INDEX TO VOLS. I. AND II.

Acts prohibited (Malagasy), ii. 44

** Adam's Grave," name of a cromlech at Eilmun, Scotland, i. 241

African (South) Folk'Lore Journal^ notice of, ii. 222-3

Agriculture, cuckoo prognostications on, ii. 56-58

Airy-mouse, rhymes on (Cornwall), ii. 201

Alchemy in Chaucer, ii. 153-4

American Indian Folk-Tales, collection proposed, i. 252

Amusement, a class of folk-tales told for, i. 91

Ancestors, o£ferings to (Malagasy), ii. 24

Angelas instituted to scare away sprites (Provenyaux), ii. 129

Anglia (East), unlucky tendency of primrose in, i. 158

Animal superstitions (Malagasy), ii. 20-27

Animals, power of speech on Christmas Eve (France), i. 102 { fabulous (Malagasy),

ii. 27-29
Ant-hill, top of, thrown at oxen (Malagasy), ii. 24
Ants, believed to eat serpents (Malagasy), ii. 20
Apes (The), story of, i. 200-2 ; variants of, i. 202
Apparitions, query on, i, 246

Apperson (Geo. L.), on ** The Crow and the Fox,'' ii. 215
Apple used for wart-cures, i. 227

Apples, story of the three golden, of Lough Erne, ii. 180-193
April, first of, unlucky day, ii. 120-1
Arabian Nights contains a variant of Scotch story, i. 94
Arcana of night, query on the, ii. 216
Argyll family, tradition concerning burial-place of, i. 241
Aristophanes quoted on cuckoo prognostication, ii. 56
Aristotle quoted on cuckoo belieft, ii. 64
Arum eaten at Hova house-warming (Malagasy), ii. 30
Ash-tree, used in wart-cures, i. 158, 224 ; preventive against witches, ii. 205
Astrology in Chaucer, ii. 145-153

Augury from wearing a shoe, i. 238 ; hand-itching, i. 240. See Divination.
Avar Tales quoted, i. 80
Aye-Aye, evil result of killing one (Malagasy), ii. 22

234

Bill, i

INDEX.

nentiunad in tradition^ Iriili Btory, li. 186

B,iUad (fflrf) Folk-Lan, bj Jamaa NapiBr, ii. Bl-126

liallHda, a rurj chaDxding, i. 23S-6i "Tliooiiuuad tlic Elf Quaeii," ii. 16M73i

France, i. 101-113
Baobab tree, sscredneu of (Malagas;), ii. 29
tiaring-QDuid'a clasBiflostion of laSk-^aXet, i. 7S, TS
Barley, cuctoo flies awnj on first lugiit o(, ii. 60
Bat, or airj-mousB, rhjraea on (Carawali), ii. 201
Bats ofevit omen (Mdagos;), a 22
Bawtry, saddler of, local saying on, i. 172
Beacon Hill (Yorks), local saying on, i. 171
Bean-Bwad used tor wart cures, i. 2:^1-2
" Boautj and the Beast," probably of Eastern origin, i. S2 ; variants of, in aHmn

i. 97 1 variant of, in old ballad, ii. U8
Beaver, teeth of, used as chaims by Hidatsas, i. 141
Bell, tradition concerning, at Dalkeith, ii. lOS ; rung under flewgate befora any ol

was banged, a 1S9 ; mng v/ben miracle is pecformed (Chaucer), ii, ISS
Bell (Eliia), query on >' Bouse that Jack built," ii. 21T
Bellindia, stoiy of, i. 197-200

Berkhampstead (Great), legend of Rose's Hole at, i. 236-7
Berwiokabire, cnokoo belief in, ii. 80 ; sowing of gowk oats in, ii. 57 ; wart-cures li

i. 217, 218, 233,226,227
Biblical custom identical with Malagaij, ii. 21
Biblingrapby, cbapbook, i. 211, ii. 21^; of English t'olk-Lorc proposed, i. 251 ; i

French Folk- Lore, i. 117 j otSir Tristcem, ii. 214, 215
Biddenham, curious custom at, i. 212
'■ Billy Taylor," parallel to in France, i. Ill
Bird of knowledge, in Irish traditional story, ii. 1S5-6 ; in Kuropean Folk-Lore, iL J

162) in old ballads, ii. 107-0
Birds, divination by, mentioned by Cbauoer, ii. 160 ; BUperatilioi

(Malagasy). 11.26-27
Birstal (Yorks), local rhjmo on, i. 171
Birtb of first child, tree planted at (Malagasy), ii. 3B
Birtb-daja (MaUgasy), certain days of month unlucky, ii. 31-32; ordeal for osouping

Black, William George, on Folk-Medicini

203-5
Blackberry, Irish sapemtition ooQceroing, i, 155
Blade-lfme, on. diirituUloa ijr, by W. J. Thorns, i. 176-9
Blood, tlirea drops of, superstition concerning, ii. 200, a
Blue, unlucky colour amonR players, ii. 201
" Blue Beard," varianla of, i. 197.
Boa, superstition concerning (MaUgasy), ii. 27
Boo, a sprite for frightening children, ii. 198
Bogles, stories told about, ii. 201

■2511 ; on players' superi

INDEX. 235

Bohemian cucloo belief, ii. 69

Border song, parallel from French ballad, i. 110

Bottle Hill, the legend of, variants of, i. 206

Brayton Bargh, local rhyme on, i. 172

Breeches (men's) placed under mother^s head for protection of child from fairies, ii. 197

Breton village custom, i. 101

Bride-feasts, minstrels at, mentioned in Chaucer, ii. 167

Bridge, ghost thrown over keystone of the middle arch of, ii. 177

Brittany, Folk-Tale of, quoted, ii. 11 ; variant of Queen Angelica from, i. 196 ;

variant of Blue Beard from, i. 197; variant of Cinderella from, i. 192
Britten, James, Index of Folk-Lore in Hardtaicke's Science Qosnp, i. 180-6 ; on

Planirlore Notes t i. 165-9
Bront^, Emily, a Yorkshire ballad quoted from, i. 105
Brownie, a sprite so called, ii. 198
Bruyere, M. his collection of British stories, i. 72
" Brynhild*s Magic Sleep,** story of, quoted, i. 84
Bucks, wart-cures in, i. 220

BufiTalo, symbolical use of (Malagasy), ii. 24 ; legendary history of (Malagasy), ii. 22
Building houses, customs at (Malagasy), ii. 38
Bull-fighting (Malagasy), ii. 25
Burdens, customs on carrying of (Malagasy), ii. 39
Burial customs, Irish, ii. 201 ; Malagasy, ii. 32-37. See Funeral
Burial-place of Argyll family, tradition concerning, i. 241
Burial superstitions, fate of spirits of the unburied (Malagasy), ii. 22
Burmese ceremony, ii. 211-12
Burton bream, local rhyme on, i. 172
Bushman Folk- Lore, Government help for publication of, i. 251

Cakes (sacred), distribution of, i. 104

Calmuck story quoted, i. 86

Calverley Mill (Yorks.), local saying on, i. 169

Calypso, representative of Greek nymphs, ii. 4

Campion (red), unlucky in Cumberland, i. 158

Carrington, Evelyn, on The WhUe Paiemosierj ii. 127-134

Castleford women, local rhyme on, i. 172

Cat, used by fairies, ii. 197{ by witches, ih. ; bom in May, superstition concerning,

ii. 205 ; wild, of evil omen (Malagasy), ii. 22
Cave of Coolagarronroe, tradition concerning, ii. 15-16
Chant for victory (Malagasy), it 37
Chapbooks, note on bibliography of, i. 244 ; ii. 213; extracts from, ii. 197-201 ;

reprints of, suggested, i. 243-4
Charms, use of, alluded to by Chaucer, ii. 159
Charms among Hidatsas, i. 144 ; Malagasy, ii. 42-46
Chastity, sign of, ii. 199
Chaucer, some Folk- Lore fromy by Rev. F. G. Fleay, ii. 135-162

236

INDKX.

Chaucor'B Night Spell, by W. J. Thams, i. 145-154

Cheshira, itb remaci)' fur warti, i. 158

Ciieu, plBjBd ia ■ IradilionJ Iriih alory, iL 183-4

Cbildren, uken hy furiei.i. 23S<6 ; ii. 113, 121, 107

Cliins, Palk-Lore of, a panllel in France, i. 109 ; Falk-Tolo friim, i. 84

Chrutmai carol (Prendi) quoted, i. 102

Cliurcli religion, ita cnluiglement with popular religion, L 100

Church. haj, tsriQ for churchjard in Cornwall, ii. 203

Cinilei' UKd in vart-cures, i. 220

Cinderella, alorj of, probable origin of, i. 81; varianta, i. 7E, 97, 188.] S2

CircumciaioD, ceremoniea of (Malagasy), ii. 25

ClaaaiBcatioa of popular talea, neccsily of, i. 7 Si (ynopaia of, i. T7-S; neu

■uggealed, i. 79 ; of QriDiini'a collection, i, 96-98
Cleckbeatfln (Yorka.), local rhjine on, i. 17i
Cleieland, local saying or, 1. 168

Cock, lacrifios of, on comiog to a new bouae, in France, i. 102
Cockle-ilielli, lued b; witches in sailing oier the aea, ii. 107
Coimbatore, well-llnding in, i. 210
Conii-tda, Ihi SlOTff of (Iriah), ii. 180-193
Conway's Demoaotogs and Uecil-Zore, notice of, ii. 218-10
CoolB, H. C. on Ilalian Foli-Lare.i. 187-215; on the J(o-ia(i'» fay, ii. 1-
CorlBM, R. W. on Yorkshire kioal rhjmes, &o. i. ISO
Cornwall, cuckoo beliefa in, ii. S2, 88, 90 i cuckoo feast in, ii. 64 j cnckoo leg

ii. 67 ; festival of nutting day in, i. 1G6; sajingi and auatoms of, ii.

wart-cures in, i. 217-21 ; wilcbcraft in, 184), ii. 20e
Corpae, arrest of, for debt, ii. 199-200 ; carious treatment of (Malagasy), ii

used for wart-curea, i. 223-7
Corrat, Cornish term tor impudent, ii. 203

Cox and Jones's Pi^ulay Sumaaca »/ On Middk Aysi, notice of, ii. 225-6
Craven, local saying on, i, 1S6
Creed (Tbs), custom of snying, i. 153
Criminals, fate of spirits of (Maiagaay), iL 22

Crocodile, ordeal by (MaUguy), iL 35 ; superstitious concerning, il. 21
" Crow and the Fox," ballad on, i. 238 ; ii. 215
CmIcoo, Popular Hiitory n/, by James Hardy, ii. 47
Cuckoo-flower, the, ii. 78-Sl
■' Cuckoo-taniba," origin of the term, ii. 71
" Cuckoo-tune," origin of the term, ii. 73

Cauberland, red campion is unlucky, i. ISS ; (he herb robert a death omen, i.
Cuatom (curious) at Biddenham, i. 242
Custom of saying the creed, temp. James I. i. 153

Dancing in church, custom of, ii. 201

d'Aulnoy, Madame, French Polb.Tale from, ii. 9-11

Day aaoied to every idol (Malagasy), ii. 32

INDEX. 237

Days, lucky and unlucky (Malagasy), ii. 30-33
Dead, beliefe connected with, in France, i. 101
Death, customs at (Malagasy), ii. 40 ; dread of (Malagasy), ii. 41; results from

planting Zahana tree (Malagasy), ii. 29
Demon stories, a divisional group of Grimm's Folk-Tales, i. 97
Demons, killing cf, in Japanese Folk-Tale, i. 1 24
Denmark, cuckoo belief in, ii. 69-72
Destiny, stories relating to, i. 83-4
Devil (The), intercourse with women, belief in, ii. 97-8 ; meets nutters on Holy Rood

day, i. 165 ; puts his foot on the blackberries, i. 155 ; appears at reading of

Lord's Prayer backwards, ii. 205
Devonshire, cuckoo belief in, ii. 62 ; cuckoo rhyme in, ii. 48 ; wart^ures in, i.

217-8, 227 ; witchcraft in, 1879, ii. 207
Devonshire Folk-Lore, notice of committee appointed to collect, ii. 230
Dewsbury (Yorks.), local rhyme on, i. 174
Dighton, connected with Hull in local rhyme, i. 162
Divination by the blade-bone, i. 175-9; by lot and by birds, mentioned by Chaucer,

ii. 160 ; love, i. 156
Diviner, obviates unlucky birth-month (Malagasy), ii. 32
Doncaster daggers, local saying on, i. 172
Dragon and serpent legends, query on, i. 247
Dragon (sea), visit to, in Japanese Folk-Tale, i. 125-6
Dragon-shrine in Japanese Folk-Tale, i. 127

Dreams, Chaucer's, ii. 142-4 ; of treasure-trove, I 237 ; faith in, by Hidatsas, i. 144
Drypole, destruction of, mentioned in local rhyme, i. 162
Dublin, superstition connected with the Yarrow in, i. 156
Ducks, Cornish saying concerning their laying, ii. 202
Dung (cow), placed at foot of tombstone (Malagasy), ii. 41
Durham, charm for new tooth in. i. 237 ; cuckoo belief in, ii. 62 ; dragon legend in,

i. 247 ; superstitions in, ii. 205 ; wart-cures in, i. 217-18, 220
Dwarfs, belief in, ii. 100 ; stories about, quoted, i. 85-6

Eagle, the white, mentioned by Chaucer, ii. 159

Ear, glowing of, sign of being talked about, mentioned in Chaucer, ii. 159

Earth (and water), from tomb of sovereign, ordeal by (Malagasy), ii. 35 ; plastered

over face (Malagasy), ii. 45
East, sleeping with head to the (Malagasy), ii. 37
East, sources of some stories from the, i. 82, 96
Easter-day custom in France, i. 101
Eating customs (Malagasy), ii. 31

Eclipse myths, a divisional group of Grimm's Folk-Tales, i. 97
Eel's blood used in wart-cures, i. 219
Eight, unlucky number (^Malagasy), ii. 38
Egeria, a type of the future, ii. 2
Elder, an amulet for epilepsy, i. 221 ; used for wart-cures, i. 222-3

238

iHDBX.

" B/fQMtn, noHios iiud Ut," Lalkil of, iL. 186-73

El.e«, Teutonic, nol tlie rame a» tbe Patuae, ii. 7

English BtoHaa, neglect in ouUecting, i, 71 ; osuee of theii

Easei, dragon legend, i. 247 : querj oii a legend of, ii. 217 i unlucky tendencj of

prlmroaeia,!. 16S
Eaton Nabbe (Yorka.), local saying on, i. 189

Fables concerning animala and birda mentioDed (Mala^aay), ii, S
FaxTia at lUcley Wills, bj Cbsrlas C. Smilb, i. 229-31

, of, from Palea, i. 83 ; similarity of Frenoh
>out, ii. 201 ; affect tbe fisbenea, ii. 209 ;
kllng of cbildran by, i. 235-6 ; Ii. 113, 121,

Fairies, cbari

and Italian, i. 214-16; atories tol<

inhabit Druidical stones, ii. IT7 ;

197
Fairy-woman of tlie *ood, wide-spread snperatilion of, i,
Fan&ny, a fabulous creature (Malagasy], ii. 27
Pane, a tree near tombs, beld saci'ed (Malugaay), ii. 29
Fates, belief In, in Europe, i. 83
Fatuae, charocterietics of, ii, 1-2 ; compared with Teutanin elves, ii.7 ; witbFsys, ii. JI
Fatui, exiatenGD of, an old Latin tradition, ii. 7
Fay, the Ifeo-Zatin, bj Henry Cbarles Coote, ii. 1-18
Pay, dcriTation of, ii. 1 ; characterialica of, ii, 5.6 ; compared wilb Fatuae, i

with Fatni, ii. 7

BB John,

Btory of, i. 202-4

Feast, the cuck

Fenton, John, on sporting ceremony in I

Fenwick, J. a. on Durham Bupcratiticn

ii. 209
Fiction (popular), history of, auggeated, i

244-5

Finnish epic, parallel in Scotch song, i. 11!

" Fiah and the Ring," ballad of the, quoted, i. SS, n.

Fisbermen. superstition of. ii. 200, 209

Flaming mountain, mentioned in traditional Iriah story, ii, 1S7

Fleay, Rev. F. G., on Fott-Lore from CiMucer, ii. 135-162

Flowers, carried by frienda of those cleared of guilt, ii. 30 ] cuckoo, ii. 78-81 ; offered

to idols (Malagaay), ii.29: decarations at Malagasy ceremony, ii. 29
Folk- Lore, deflnition of, i. 99-100 ; value of. illustrated, i. 103
Folk-Lore in Hardwicke's SdtriK Ooaiip, index of, i. lSO-86
Folk-Lore ofFrana, by A. Lang, i, 99-117
Foli-Lore, Malagasy, by Rev. J. Sibree, ii. 19.46.
Folk-Hedicine, ,woik projected on, i. 246, 250
Folk.Songi, -value of, i. 109
Folt-Talei, Sala on, by W. R. S. Ralaton, I. 71-98
Folk-Tales (notea on coUcotiona o(), English, i. 72; French, i. 113-llfl

i. Til Seottitb, i. Tli Sicilian, i. 71

INDEX. 239

Folk-Tales (collections of), American-lDdian, proposed, i. 252 ; English (three), ii.

178-179 ; of Hidatsa Indians, i. 186-148 ; of Japan, i. 117-135 ; Malagasy, note

on discovery of, ii. 19
Folk-Tales, origin of, discussed, i. 78-76, 115 ; theory of origin of European, i. 37;

variants of, i. 114-15, ii. 9-17
Food, custom of tasting before giving (Malagasy), ii. 87
Foretelling, p6wer of, by the cuckoo, ii. 85-90
Fowl, laying of egg by, considered as an omen (Malagasy), ii. 26 ; certain portions

for superiors' food (Malagasy), ii. 24
France, the Folk-Lore of, i. 99-117; proverb of, quoted, ii. 65; sporting ceremony

of, ii. 212-13
France (the Folk-Tales of), no collection of, L 113; resemblance to Italian, i. 187,

218; non-Celtic origin of, i. 212; a Folk-Tale related, ii. 9-11; variants of

Cinderella, i. 192 ; of Petite Patenotre Blanche, ii. 128 ; of Ugly Gourd, i. 195
Friday, Durham superstitions concerning, ii. 205
Friday in Lide, festival on (Cornwall), ii. 201-2
Frog Prince, the, probably of Eastern origin, i. 82
Frog Spouse, variants in Grimm, i. 97
Funeral custom in Scotland, ii. 214. See Burial

Galloway, wart-cures in, i. 218-227

'* Gay goss-hawk,** parallels to ballad of, i. 110

Germander speedwell, a death-omen in Yorkshire, i. 159

Germany, cuckoo beliefs in, ii. 53-4, 59, 71 ; cuckoo legend quoted, ii. 77 ; cuckoo

money in, iu 90 ; cuckoo saying in, ii. 87 ; egg superstition in, ii. 228 ; variant

of a Folk-Prayer in, ii. 130 ; nightingale in, ii. 65 ; proverbs of, quoted, ii.

65,73
Ohostt The laying of iht^ a tale, iL 1 76-7
Ghosts, go about at night, ii. 197 ; stories told about, ii. 201 ; belief in, among

Hidatsas, i. 143. See Spirits
Glamour, origin of, noted, ii. 122

Gloucestershire, cuckoo rhyme, ii. 48 ; dragon legend, i. 247 ; wart-cures, i. 228
Goats, superstitious dislike to (Malagasy), ii. 22
Gomme, G. L., bibliography of Sir Tristrem, ii. 214-15 ; local rhymes and sayings,

i. 249 ; legendary origin of British towns, i. 250 ; royal superstition, ii. 217 ;

well-finding, i. 240
Googe*s (Barnabe) Popish Kingdom, notice of publication of, ii. 230
Gotham (wise men of), legends of, quoted, ii. 67
Gowk, origin of the term, ii. 72 ; gowk's nest, legend of, ii. 72-73 ; gowk-storm,

ii. 52-53
Graelent, the story of, ii. 8
Greece, belief in fates, i. 83 ; custom of, identical with Malagasy, ii. 24 ; nymphs,

characteristics of, ii. 3 ; proverb of, quoted, ii. 70
Grimm's collection of Folk-Tales, rough classification of, i. 96-98
Grimm's Teutonic Mythology ^ notice of translation, i. 250, ii. 226-27

Gunning (Catlicrine), query on apparitions, i. 2iS
Q-uns, charms agniaal (Maiugssy), ii. H

Hagiologj in ChaucBr, ii. 155-0

Hahn'i classification of Folli-Taiea, i. TS

Hailitone, E. on Yorkiliire local rliymss, ke. i. lUO

Hair, swearing at, i. 233

Ualihx gibbot-law, origin ol, discuuei), i. 163-5

Hllibx, old aapuga an. i. 162-G

Eoilamshire, locai rbyme on, i. 16S

Hallowe'en GUBtom,ii.l2G

Hamilton (ITorka.), looul saying on, i. 169

Hamiltan-Hougl), local rbyme on, i. 172

Hand-itching augury, i. 2i(l

Hants, cB^koo rhyme, ii. 4S ; wait-oures in, i. SIS

Hardwicke's Science Gosiip, Index o/Foli-Zoie in, i. ISO-fl

Hardy, James, on Popular HSslOTy a/ </ie Cucioo, ii, IT ; on WaH and II

Hares, considered to be dsTJis and witches, ii. 200

Harvest custom in Cornwall, ii. 202

niiaina tree, aacredness o( (Malagasy), ii. 29

Halfiflld, local saying on, i. 173

Hawk and the cuckoo, ii. 62, 61

Hazel-bush, speaking, ii. 109

Haxel-nuC, superstitions concerning, i. lGS-6

HaznmJLuitra tree, planted at birth of fir^t child (Malagasy), ii. 29

Heal, Cornish term for conceal, ii. 203

Heokmondwike, local rhyme on, i. ITi

Hen, black, presented to the deril to appease him, ii. 205

Herefordshire, dragon legend, i. 248 i name for wryneck, ii. 63 ; origin of

i. 74

i. 58

Heaiod quoted on ouckoo progni

tlidatsa Indians, Folk-Tale of, i. 136-143 ; supersl

Hob Thrust, a sprito, so called, U. IDS

Holidays (ouckoo), ii. 83-85

Holy Rood day, nutting superstition on, i. 165

Home and family iifo, Folk-Lora of (Malagasy), ii.

Hood Hill (Yorks.), local saying on, i. 169

Hornsea etaurch, local rhyme on, i. 173

Horse, speaking In traditional Irish story, ti. 190;

Horsehair, used in wart cares, i. 219, 223

Ho»pi»lity (priniitiva), traces in French Folk song

House, sacred portiuus of (Malagasy), ii. 37

House (the) that Jack built, iiuery on, ii. 217

House-warming, arum eater at (Malaga^), it. 30

INDEX. 241

Hull, rhymes on, i. 162

Hull-cheese, rhyme on, i. 162

Human spirits pass into crocodiles (MiaUgasy), ii. 21

Hunchback story, variants of, i. 89

Husband, dream of future, u 157

Husk Myths, a divisional group of Cbimm^s Folk-Tales, i. 97

Ignis Fatuus, queiy on, i. 247

Ilkley Wells, £Euries at, i. 229-81

Index o/Folk-Zore in ffardwicke't Science Oouip, i. 180-6

Indexes of Folk-Lore works proposed, i« 251

Indian Fairy Tales, notice of new work on, ii. 280-1

Indian, legend on the origin of a stone circle, ii. 178-9 ; well-finding, i. 242

Ingleborough, local rhyme on, L 167

Ipswich, judgment on swearers at, i. 288

Ireland (Folk-Lore of), blackberry superstition, i. 155 ; burial custom, ii. 201 ;

cuckoo saying, ii. 63 f queiy on MS. collection of legends, L. 250; tradition

related, u. 15-17; wart-cures, i. 221, 223r4
Ireland, story of Conn-eda, ii. 180-193
Italian F<Uk^Lore, Some, by H. G. Goote, L 187-215
Italy (Folk-Lore of), parallel to French, i. 187 ; cuckoo belief in, ii. 61 ; belief in.

fates, i. 88 ; fatuae of, ii. 2-3
Italy, variants of folk-prayer in, ii.. ISO^-l
Italy (Folk-Tales of ), resembkince to French, t. 213 ; a folk-tale related, u. 12^-15 ;

variant of Cinderella, i. 188-92

Japan, Folk-Tales of, i. 117-85 ; parallel folk-tale in France, L 114 ; story quoted, i.

88 ; magic mirror of, ii. 210-11 ; proverbs, promise of a. collection, L 252
Joan the Wad, Gomish name of a pisky, ii. 202
Joe, story of, i. 204-6
Joyce'^B Old CelHc Romaneet, notice of, ii.. 223^5

Kaflfir Folk-Lore, prcjected publication of collection of, i. 251

Kelpy, characteristics of, ii. 198 ; stories told about, ii. 201

Kent, nutting superstition in, i. 155

Kilpatrick, Scotland, ballad from, i. 235-6

King and his knights turned to stones, ii. 177

Kings, Malagasy customs relating to, ii. 23-5

Kirghis tale, variants of, in Russia, i. 91

Kit with the Can'stick, query on, i. 247

Kite, considered of evil omen (Malagasy), ii. 26

Knots used for wart-cures, i. 221

LfUomena, a fabulous animal (Malagasy), ii. 27

Lancashire, cuckoo belief, ii. 50 ; wart-cures in, i. 217-18, 220-1

VOL. II. • R

242

INDEX.

Lang, A. on lAl Fdk-Lore of Frantt, i. BB-ll?

Lant&l, tlie itor; of, il. g

Latluua, Mn. an IVM Susiex SaptniitioM, i. 1-Q7

Latin origin ot Prenoh fur; tAtee, i. 213

Lawrence, Che God afidleueMin CornitBll, ii. 2113

Left band and tide, use at, at mourning (Malagas;), ii. S9

Left foot, not to enter bouse with (Malagas;), ii. 37

Legends (Irish), qaer; on MS. oullectiuii of, i. 2SI)

Lemur, containa spirit! of anaeilorE (Malagas;), ii. 22

Liebruohl, Dr. olnaivationa on first volume, ii. 228-9

Lincoln, mentioned in loeal rhyme, i. IIJO

LincoLnBhire, nutting superstition in, i. 15£l

Lincolnshire Eel, legend o(, referred to, i. 246

LindholiDO, local iii;ing on, i, 173

Lion Bruno, atorj of, i. 209-13

Litiiuanian tale qaoted, i. 8fi

Llo]rd (Miu), projected journal of Afrioan Folk-Lore, i. 2S1

Local mifmti aud Saying! (rorhkire), i. 160-175; query on, i. Z49

London, mentioned in local rh;mes, i. 160-2

Lord''s Pra;er, supentition on aa;lag it backwardi, 11. 205

Lot, divinatioa by, mentioned b; Chancer, ii. 160

Louster, Camish term for working hard, ii. 203

Love, cuckoo prognosticationa of lucoesa in, ii. G6 ; potions alluded to b; Qiancer,
ii. 16B; tokaps, ii, 116; tows, ourioua onstam of, i. ail; yarrow used for divi-
nation of, i. 156

LustratioD of the Itelds in Franae, i. 103

aPolic-Talf

Magic, pasaage on, frum Cbauce;

Magic and Witchcraft, a divuiioi

Maids, Old, Iradilions oonoeming, ii. 200

llaZagaii Folh-Lort and Popidar SaptrttUwai, b; Jttnios Sibri

Malagasy Folk-Tales, discover; of, ii. 19

Manual orFolk-Luro suggested, i. 243

March, Saxon name of, preserved, ii. 201

Marriage ceremonies, cuckoo connected with, ii. 71-2; porti

bride's parents (Malagasy), ii. 24
Marriage paity turned into stone (Indian), ii. lTS-9
May, cat bom in, superstition concerning, ii. 205; obacrvaiices

tinned b; Chance]

May Col,

rallels (

i. lU

Ma; Da;, customs, ii. 199 ; feast at Nun Monkton. i. 239; superatitions :

i. 166 ; in Wioklow, i. 167
MeasurainenC, regulation of, b; Queen's Sngers, &c. (Malnguy), ii. 3S
Meal used as warl-oharm, i, 217-8
Msaus (Yorks.), local rli;me on, i. 106

INDEX. 243

Medicine. See Folk Medicine

Mermaids, beliefs in, ii. 102-7

Mermen, belief in, ii. 103

Merry Dun of Dover, query on, i. 246; answered, ii. 229

Metamorphosis, in Japanese folk-tale, i. 130 ; in Normandy ballad, i. 106

Middlesex, the shephcrd*8 purse unlucky in, i. 159

Midlothian, cuckoo beliefs in, ii. 90

j\flUer at the Professor^s Examinationf tale of, ii. 173-6

Mirror, the magic, of Japan, ii. 210-11

Moloch fires, survival of, in France, i. 101

Money (cuckoo), ii. 90

Mongol Tales, special interest of, i. 87 ; specimen quoted, i. 87

Monster, evil, folk-tale of, i. 136-143

Months, lucky and unlucky (Malagasy), ii. 31-2

Moon, man in the, mentioned by Chaucer, ii. 158 ; waning of, unfavourable time

(Malagasy), ii. 32 ; weather influenced by, mentioned by Chaucer, ii. 159
Moon (full), warts cured at, i. 219-20
Moon (new), dead buried at (Malagasy), ii. 32
Moral class of stories, i. 79-81 ; specimens quoted, i. 89
Moral and mythological stories. See Mythological
Mourning custom (Malagasy), ii. 39
Murder, belief as to person guilty of, ii. 101

Mythological stories, a class of folk-tales, i. 79, 81-3 ; Grimm's collection of, i. 97-8
Mythological and moral stories, specimens of, i. 87-91

Names, unlucky to pronounce their own (Malagasy), ii. 39

Napier, James, on Old Ballad Folk-Lore, ii. 92-126

Napier^s Folk'Lore in the West of Scotland, notice of, ii. 221-2

Nature Myths, probable, in Grimm's Folk-Tales, i. 97; some stories resolved into,
i. 81

Neck, a sheaf of wheat plaited, a Cornish custom, ii. 202

New Year's feast, oxen blessed at (Malagasy), ii. 23 ; things eaten at, use of (Mala-
gasy), ii. 40

Newcastle cuckoo saying, ii. 63

Nightingale, contest with cuckoo, ii. 55 ; knows human actions, ii. 107

Night-spell in Chaucer, i. 145-154

Nine, unlucky number (Malagasy), ii. 38

Norfolk, cuckoo rhyme, ii. 48, 58 ; primrose unlucky in, i. 158 ; witchcraft in, 1879,
ii. 207-8

North, sleeping with head to the (Malagasy), ii. 37

Northamptonshire, cuckoo beliefs in, ii. 90 ; cuckoo-lamb, ii. 74; cuckoo rhymes, ii.
87; wart-cures in, i. 217-18, 227

Northern (ancient) nations, destiny stories not prominent among, i. 83

Northumberland, cuckoo legend, ii. 67; cuckoo saying, ii, ^Q\ cuckoo rhyme, ii. 50;
wart-cures in, i. 217, 218, 220-1, 226-7

244 UTDXX.

Norwegian cuokoo legend, il. 77

NottiDgbsDiBbire, cuckoo beliflf, ii. 61 ; pancake CDBtoin

NuQilian. Inokj and unluckj (MaUgwy), ii. 38

Nun Kvling, local rlijoio un. i. IM

Nnn MonkWn Feast, I. 28fl

Nutting inperstitione, i. 15G

Oak-tree, nail driTen into, will cnre looUiaohfl, i. 224

OcIjBgGy, parallel to, in Frentb balUd, i. 109

Ogier, the etor; of, ii. T-S

Ogrea, similarit; d, in France and Italy, i. 213

Old Sent, ii. 1S8

OmouH. Set " Animals," '• Birda "

Ordeals (Malagtuy), ii. ZS-S6 ; rorniurder, ii. 11)1-2

Oien, Malagasy oustoms conoeming. ii. 33-25

Oxford, mentioned in loeal rbfrna, i. 162

Oxfordahire, dragon legend, i, 248 ; wart-cores, i. 22S

Owla, of evil omen (Molagaij), ii. 22, 26

Pancake, piece of, first given
Partenopex, the stor; of, ii, S

I Ihei

Patenii

i. 133

Fatenuuter, The While, a note on, by E. Cairington, il. 127-34
Paul), local rbyme on, i. 167
Pea, used in wart-cnrei, i. 220
Fecbe. 5«"Piota"
Pekin, apirlt mpentition from, i. 237
Pendle, local rbyme on, i. 1S7
Peuuigent, local rhjma on, i. 167
Ptoundes, C. on Some Japan Foih-Tale!, i. 1 17-35
Picta or Pechs, o race of dwarb, ii. 100

Pigs, RipeiBtitiouB dislike to (Halagasf), ii. 22 ; prognasticstion of wind by on
straw in their months, ii. 206 ; blood of, used in wart-enrea, i. 218-lfl

Pin used in wart onnie, i. 218, 224

Pindar of Wakefield, a popular hero, i. 161

Pisa, variflBlof Cinderella from, i. 1&2; nf Queen Angelicji, i. IKH ; ofTh.- '
man, i. 197

Ksky, Comisb name of a. ii. 202

Place names derived from the ouckoo, ii. 74-T0

PlaKt-LoTi NBta, by J. Britten, i, 155-50

Plants, cnckou, ii. 78-81 ; Euperstitione cc

Playen' snperstitionB, ii. 203-G

Plinj, quoted on cuckoo bolicfs, ii. 57, 84

PluUrch, quoted on cuckoo beliefs, ii. B4

■ning (Malagasy), ii. 29 ; unlucky,

INDEX. 245

Poison ordeal (Malagasy), ii. 38-34

Poles, cuckoo belief among the, ii. 85

Pomfret, local saying on, i. 168

Popinjay, speaking of, ii. 109

Popular fiction, history of, suggested, i. 244-5

Prayers, Folk. See *' Paternoster "

Primrose, solitary, unlucky, i. 158

Provence, devotional fragment in, quoted, ii. 129

Proverbs, quoted, ii. 57, 59, 65, 70, 78, 203 ; from Chaucer, ii. 136-42

Puss-in-Boots, moral nature of this story, i. 79 ; variants of, i. 79-80, 114

Queen Angelica, story of, i. 195-6; variants of, i. 196

RadloflTs collection of South Siberian Folk-Lore, quoted, i. 90

Rain, a preventive of, ii. 205

Ralston, W. R. S., Notes on Folk-Tales, i. 71-98

Raskelfe (Yorks.), local rhyme on, i. 172

Rawdon Billing (Yorks.), local saying on, i. 169

Reaping-time, oxen killed at (Malagasy), ii. 23

Rhymes {LocaX) and Sayings, Yorkshire^ i. 160-75

Rhymes (local) and sayings, query on, i. 249

Riddles, popularity of in the East, i. 91

Ring, futurity seen through, ii. 116

Rippon rowels, local saying on, i. 168

Rish, Cornish term for a list, ii. 203

Rivers, Yorkshire, characteristics of some, i. 167

Robert, the herb, death omen in Cumberland, i. 159

Robin Goodfellow, a sprite, ii. 198

RoUrigM Stones ^ a legend of, ii. 177-79

Roman village custom, i. 108-4 ; custom identical with Malagasy, ii. 24

Romances, mention of the reading of, in Chaucer, ii. 158-9

Rona (Scotland), cuckoo superstition, ii. 86

Roper's News, a Cornish saying, ii. 203

Roseberry Topping, local saying on, i. 168-9

Rose*s Hole (Herts.), legend of, i. 286-7

Royal superstition, query on a, ii. 217

Royalty, superstitions concerning (Malagasy), ii. 37

Russia, cuckoo in, ii. 61 ; influence of fatalism in, i. 83 ; king of, a hero in French

story, ii. 9-11 ; witchcraft in, 1879, ii. 207
Russia (Folk-Tales of), quoted, i. 80, 81, 83 ; variants of, i. 91-2

Sacrifice of maidens to mountain-god in Japanese story, i. 120-2

Sacrifices (Malagasy), ii. 24

Sacrificial nature of wart-charms, i. 218

Saddlewick, Parson of, local saying on, i. 167

246

INDEX.

St. Aniie'B Ddj. Breton cubLodi on, i. 101

St, Divid'a Day, custom, ii. ISO

St. Monda;. Bhoemakera' hDllda}, quorj as to origin a

St. John's Evo, ooremonies on, in t'raneo, i. 101

SalDtations, old forniB of (MaUgaBj), ii. 37

aanoluary la«-a of Alfred, local rhyrao connected witi

Sand (black) placed on liead of corpse (Malaga^), il.

Sand, Qeorge, rnral novels of, referred to for folk-loro, i. 101

Sanskrit original of Scotcli Btory, i, 05

Sardinia, variant of folk pmyer in, ii. ISl

Satchel), Thomas, on Child and Ihc Toad, i. 23T| Child's charm for

i. 237; Hand-itehing Augnrj, i. 210; Saying? and Customs a

ii. 201-3; Shoe Augrury, i. 233 ; Swearers, Judgment on, L 233
Scandinaiian story of" Biynhild's Magic Sleep," quoted, i. 84
Scuborougb, local uying on, i. 169
Scarborough warning, i. 1B9-72
Scotland, cuckoo beliofBin,ii. 50, 85, 87, 89; eiiokoo rhyme, ii.60; en.

ii. 62; funeral castom of, ii. 214; proverb q not nd, ii. 73 ; swallow i

ii. 67. S'seArgyle
Scotland (tolk-songB of ), variants in Finniili, i. Ill ; in France, i. 108,
Simlland (folk-talOB of ), quoted, i. D2, 01; variants of, i. il2, 01
Seamen '« eaperstitions, query on, i. 248
SermonB (old), Buggeeted source tnr folk-lore, i. ] 51
Serpent, burning of, a. Breton onetom, i. 101
Serpent (and Dragon) legends, query uA, i. 2J7

Serpent*, Blorita about, fabulous (Malagaay), ii. 27 ; oppeaBert by meat ii
1 European folk-lore, ii, 192 ; Malagas; auperstitio:

; traditi

I of, t

^ing li

i. 17B

Servian enckoo prognostication, ii. 53

Seven sleepers, belief in, ii. 65

Sbakspeare quoted on cuckoo belief, ii. 61 ; on cuckoo song, ii. 50

Sheep, certain portion given to bride's parents (Mabigwy), Ii. 24

Sheffield, local rhyme on, i. 165

Shepherd's puree, unlucky in Lancashire, J. 159; Middlesex (ihiil.)

(ifruJ.) ; Hanover (ibid.) ; Venezuela (ibid.)
Shoe, augury from wearing of, i. 238
Shropshire, ouckoo ale in, it. 84
Shrove Monday custom, ii. 218
Sibree, Bev. J, Ob Malagaiy Folk-Lort, ii. 1 9-46
Sickness, charm against (Mahigaay), ii. 46-6 ; customs a[ (Malagasy), i

Sicily, traditions of Fatui in, ii. 7
Sikes's Britiih OMint, notice of, ii. 220-1
Singular number, dislike of (Malagasy), ii. 38
" Sir Gawavno,'- the story of, ii. 3

INDEX. 247

Six, unlucky number (Malagasy), ii. 38

Slavs, gender of cuckoo among, ii. 61 ; belief in fates, i. 83

" Sleeping Beauty, The," a nature myth, i. 81 ; its origin, i. 73-5 ; variants in Ghrimm,

i. 97
Smith, Charles C, on Fairies at IlkUy Wells, I 229-31
Smith, W. G. on Nottinghamshire pancake custom, ii. 213; on funeral custom in

Scotland, ii. 214
Snail used as a wart-charm, i. 218

Sneezing, customs at (Malagasy), ii. 36; ordeal by (Malagasy), ii. 36
Somersetshire, cuckoo legend, ii. 68

Song chanted at circumcision ceremonies, described (Malagasy), ii. 25
Songdmby, a fabulous beast (Malagasy), ii. 27
Songs, French, quoted, i. 101, 103, 105, 106, 109, 110
Soul, superstition concerning flight of the, in France, i. 102
Souls, belief in four, to every human being (Hidatsas), i. 144
Sovereign, customs at death of (Malagasy), ii. 40. See King, Rojalty
Spain, variant of folk-prayer in, ii. 132 ; proverb quoted, ii. 59
Spiders* webs used in wart-cures, i. 226
Spirit superstition from Pekin, i. 237
Spirito of the dead, visitation by, ii. 110-12
Spittle (cuckoo), ii. 81-3 ; medicinal virtue of, after waking (Malagasy), ii. 37; used

for wart cures, i. 226 . .

Sporting ceremony, France, ii. 212-13
Spring, known as cuckoo time, ii. 54
Sprotborough, local rhyme on, i. 166
Spunkie, name for Willy-and-the-Wisp, ii. 197
Stanton Drew, tradition of stone circle at, ii. 179

Stephens, Professor Dr. George, on extracts from chap-books, ii. 197-201
Stone-boiling, ordeal by (Malagasy), ii. 34
Stone- worship, authorities on, ii. 179
Stones used in wart-cures, i. 220
Stones, traditions concerning great, ii. 178-9 ;. necessity of collecting traditions,

ii. 179
Stories, requirements for collecting, i. 72-3 .
Straw used in wart-cures, i. 221
Suffolk, cuckoo rhyme, ii. 48 ; nutting superstition in, i. 155 ; wart-cures in, i. 217 ;

yarrow superstition in, i. 156
Suggestions for future work, i. 243-5
Sunday, unlucky for Hova sovereign to commence journey (Malagasy), ii. 33 ; unlucky

among players to work on, ii. 204-5
Superstitions, of France, i. 100, 104 ; of Hidatsa Indians, i. 143-4 ; Malagasy, ii. 19-46 ;

seamen^s, i. 249
Sussex, first cuckoo day, ii. 52; cuckoo-keeper in, ii. 67; cuckoo rhyme, ii. 49 ;

dragon legend, i. 248
Sussex (West) Superstitions, by Mrs. Latham, i. 1-67 (see special Index)

Sweden, cooboo betieft, ii. 72 ; nuae for wryaeck in, iL 0'
awiiiB (York*.), local rhyme on. i. 160
Switiorluid, cuckoo belieb, iL 63, ST

Tikntra bird, belief ooncotuing (MdBgiiB]>), ii. 26

Tally, probable mode of keeping, ii. 203

Tonmridd tree, sacrednees at (Malagasy) , ii. 29

TanUrabobus withoni a tail, query OQ, i. 247

Templebrougb, local rhyme on, i. 168

Tenhury fair, connected with comiag of cuckoo, ii. 52

Theological treatises (old) , anggeited aourco for folk-lore, i

Thoiaiu and Ihi Elf Qusea. ballad of, ii. 16S-73

Thoms, William J., on Cha-aeer'i Sfig!U-3peU,i. liS-fli ; on Divinaiioii ij On Blade'

tone, i. 17fi-8 i oommunioation of M8S. by Thomaa Wright, ii. 185-79
Three, unlucky number (MnUgaay), ii. 38
" Tlireo Sialers, The," alorj of, i. 206-9

Thuraday, uulucky tor Ilova sovereign to ooraraeneo joarnoy (Malagaey), ii. 33
Time, lapse of, during restdeace with f^ies, &c. ii. 5, 172
Tdkan-dia, a Maloua boaat (MakgOBy), U. 27
Tomba, trees near, held eaored (Malagasy), ii. 29
Toutli, custom at lose of first (Malagasy), ii. 36
" Ji (new), child's charm for, i. 237

Toolliae

i. 224

Towns, query on legendary origin of, i. 250

Transmigration of souls (Malagasy boliefs), ii. 21-2

Trees, aupeistitions couceming (Malagasy), ii. 2I>

Tristreiu, bibliography ofromancD nf, ii. 214-lS

" True and Untrue," stoij of, quoted, i. 89

Tuejdajs, cbiidren bom on, put to death (Malagasy), ii. 32

Turkish variant of Scotch atory, i. 9G

TuEicany, a variant of Cinderella from, i. 192

Twelve, lucky number (Malagasy), ii. S9

" Two Wanderers, The," story of, quoted, i. SB

Tylor, Dr. E. B. communicalioii ot Folk-Tales of Hidalsa Indians, i. 136-41 "

Tyrol, cuckoo foretells disaster in, Ii. SC

" Ugly-Gourd," story of, i. 192^ ; variants of, i. Ii)
UlyiBCe, the Scandinavian, mentioned by Chaucer, ii

ine's day custom, ii. 12G
re, in Italian folk-lore, L 2'
lsoffolk.prayerB,ii.l27-3:

i. 110-11 ; of folk-tales, i, 83, 92,

Vegetables, certain, tabooed by some families (Malagasy), ii. Z

INDEX. 249

Village ceremony in France, i. 103

Village custom at Biddenham, i. 242

Villages removed when death occurs (Malagasy), ii. 41

Wales, cuckoo rhyme, ii. 53 ; proverb, ii. 70; wart-cures in, i. 223

Walker, Henry Aston, on burial-place of Argyll family, i. 241-2; on Burmese

ceremony, ii. 211-12
Wakefield, local saying on, i. 161

Wakefield, manor of, connected with Halifax gibbet law, i. 165
Wake-plays, mentioned by Chaucer, ii. 160
Wake-vigils, mentioned by Chaucer, ii. 160
War-chant (Malagasy), ii. 37
Wart and Wen Cures, by James Hardy, i. 216-28
Warts, remedy for, in connection with ash, i. 158
Water in natural hollows used for wart-cures, i. 223
Water (hot) and stone, ordeal by (Malagasy), ii. 34
Weather lore, Chaucer on, ii. 159 ; cuckoo, ii. 53 ; Malagasy^ ii. 39
Webster's Basque Legends^ notice of, ii. 227-8
Wedding customs, from Japanese folk-tale, i. 131-3
Well-dressing at Milton, ii. 209
Well-finding in India, i. 239-40
Wells, purifying power qf water, ii. 100-1
Wen-cures. See " Wart * *

Werra, the Slav deity^ custom concerning on new year's eve, i. 149
Westmoreland, cuckoo beliefis in, ii. 90 ; wart-cures in, i. 220
Wetherby, local rhyme on, i. 173

White's Way to the True Churchy quoted for folk-lore, i. 152
White Cat, variant of, French story of, i. 202

White Paternoster, suggested reading of Witch's Paternoster, i. 150 See " Paternoster "
Whittington and his Cat, moral nature of this story, i. 80 ; variants of, i. 80
Whooffey Brow bogle, a sprite so called, ii. 198
Wicklow, superstition connected with the yarrow, i. 157
William of Lindholme, legend of, i. 173

Willy -and-the- Wisp, characteristics of, ii. 197; stories told about, ii. 201
Wiltshire cuckoo rhyme, ii. 49

Wind, prognostication of, by pigs carrying straw, ii. 205
Winds, personified in French and Italian folk-lore, i. 215
Winkabank, local rhyme on, i. 166
Witchcraft (modem belief in), England, in 1844, ii. 206 ; in 1879, ii. 208-9 ;

Hidatsa Indians, i. 144 ; Indian, i. 242 ; Provence, ii. 129; Malagasy, ii. 33,

42-6 ; Russia, ii. 208-9
Witchcraft (traditional belief in) in ballads, ii. 98.101
Witch's Paternoster, suggested reading for White Paternoster, i. 150
Witches, characteristics of, ii. 197 ; preventive against, ii. 205 ; stories told about, ii.

201 ; similarity of, in France and Italy, i. 213-4

VOL. II. 8

250 INDEX.

Witch-ladies, belief in, U. 116, 120, 124

Woman, unlucky to players if one first enters theatre, ii. 204

Woodman, story of, L 196-7; variants of, i. 197

Worcestershire, cuckoo belief, ii. 52 ; primrose unlucky in, i. 158

Worm, traditions concerning a fabulous (Malagasy), ii. 27

Worms, cure for, ii. 2 05

Wright, Thomas, four transcripts by, ii. 165-79

Wryneck, the cuckooes harbinger, ii. 62

Yarrow, used for love divinations, i. 156-7; possession of, attended with luck, i. 157 ;

used in witchcraft, i. 157
York, old riiymes on, i. 160-2
Yorkshire, ballad parallels in Denmark and Provence, i. 106 ; cuckoo beliefe, ii.

90; cuckoo rhymes, ii. 87 ; cuckoo saying, ii. 52, 64 ; dragon legend, i. 248 ;

germander speedwell, a death omen, i. 159 ; local rhymes and sayings, i.

160-75 ; wart cures, i. 217, 220-1. See *' Ilkley," ** Nun Monkton '*
Yorkshiremen, local sayings on, i. 1 68, 1 74-5
Yule-log, parallel in France, i. 102

Zahana tree, superstition concerning (Malagasy), ii. 29.

m 4»ih-iTO ^otktn.

FIKST ANNUAL KEPOKT OF THE COUNCIL,

29 MAY, 1879.

In presenting the First Annual Report to the Members of the
Society, the Council think they have great reason for con-
gratulation upon the very general welcome that has been
afforded to the undertaking, both by the general public and the
press. The formation of the Society, first proposed in Notes and
Queries J was supported by other literary journals, and from the
commencement a steady increase in the number of Members has
been made. The preliminary list contained 129 names; in
December, 1878, the number was 180, and at the present moment
the roll shows over 220 Members.

The Council, convinced by the experience of the past year
that the establishment of a Folk-Lore Society had become
thoroughly necessary to the student- world, think it is not an
inopportune moment to state shortly what special branches of
knowledge seem to them to be embraced under the term " Folk-
Lore."

The origin of the term " Folk-Lore *' is no doubt pretty gene-
rally known, but the Council think that the First Report of
the Society should contain a full reference to the source from
which the term is derived. Li The Athenaum of the 22nd
August, 1846, the following letter was printed : —

Angnst 12.
Your pages have so often given eyidence of the interest which you take in
what we in England designate as Popular Antiquities, or Popular Literature
(though by-the-hye it is more a Lore than a Literature, and would be most aptly
described by a good Saxon compound Folk-Lore — the Lore of the People) — that
I am not without hopes of enlisting your aid in garnering the few ears which are
remaining scattered over that field from which our forefathers might have
gathered a goodly crop.

2 FIRST REPORT, MAT 1879.

No one irho has made the imuincrs, customs. obBerranceB, BnperstitiaaB, ballads,
proTerbs, &c. of tba olden time his stadj, but most hare arrlTed at two con-
cluaions: — tbe Gret, how mnch that is cnrions and inlereitting in these maCUrs is
now entirely loBt — the second, how maeli niaj' yet be rescned by timaiy BTertion.
What Hone aodeavonred to do in his " Every-dfty Book," &c. the Aihen/BBta,
by ifH wider circnlation, may accomplJBh teo timea more efEectnally — gather
together the inficiw nnmber of mintite facts, illaatrative of the subject I have
mentioned, which are acattercd over the memories of its thonsands of readers,
and preserve them in its ponces, nntil mme James Grimm shall arise who shall do
for the Alyjliology of the British Islands the good service which that profound
Bntiqnarr and philologist has accomplished for the Mythology of Germany. The
present centmy has scarcely prodnccd a more remarkable book, imperfect as its
learned anthor confesses it to be, than the second edition of the " DbuUoIu
Mt/thologie; " and what is it I— a mosB of minnte facts, many of which, when
separately considered, appear trifling and inaignifiuant— bnt, when taken in con-
nexion with the ^tem into which his master-mind has woven them, assnme a
value that he who first recorded them never dreamed of attributing to them.

How many such facts wonld one word from you evoke, from the north and
from the sonth — from John O'Groat's to the Land's End ! How many readers
would be glad to show their gratitude for the novelties which yon, from week to
wook, commtmicate to them, by forwarding to yon some record of old Time—
leeoUection of a now neglected cnatont — some fading legend, local tradition, oc ■
frngmentBjry ballad 1

Nor monid snch communications bo of service to the English antiqnary alone, '
The connexion between the FOLK-LOEE of England (remember, I claii
honour of introdticing the epithet rolfc-Lore, as Disraeli does of introdneing
Father-Iiand, into the literature of this country) and that of Germany is so
intimate that snch communication will probably serve to enrich some future
edition of Grimm's Mythology.

Let me give jou an instance of this connexion. — In one of the chapters of
Grimm, ho treats very fully of the parts which the Cnckoo plays in Popular
Mythology — of the prophetic character with which it has been invested by the
voice of the pooplej and gives many instances of the practice of deriving pre-
dictions from the nnmber of times which its song is heard. He also records a
popular notion " that the Cuckoo never tings till he has thrice eaten his fill of
cherries." Now I have lately been informed of a custom which formerly obtained
among children in Yorkshire, that illustrates the fact of a connexion between the
Cuckoo and the Cherry, — and t]iae,too, in their prophetic attributes. Afriendhas
communicated to rae that children in Yorkshire were formerly (and may be still)
Bccostomcd to sing round a cherry-tree the following ic

Cuckoo, cherry-tree,

Come down and tell rai

How many years I have to live.

Kach child then shook the tree, — and the nnmber of cherries which fell betokened
the years of its future life.

FIRST REPORT, MAY 1879. 3

The Nursery Rhyme which I have quoted is, I am aware, well known. But
the manner in which it was applied is not recorded by Hone, Brande, or Ellis; —
and is one of those facts which, trifling in themselves, become of importan^ie when
they form links in a great chain — one of those facts which a word from the
Athencev/m would gather in abundance for the use of future inquirers into that
interesting branch of literary antiquities— our Folk Lore.

Ambbose Mebton.

F.S. — It is only honest that I should tell you I have long been contemplating
a work upon our Folk'Lore (under tluit titles mind Messrs. A. B. and C, so
do not try to forestall me); — and I am personally interested in the success of
the experiment which I have in this letter, albeit imperfectly, urged you to
undertake.

The suggestion thus made met with the kindly and cordial
support of the Editor of the AthentBum^ Mr. Dilke. It was fol-
lowed up a fortnight later by a second letter from "Ambrose
Merton," suggesting special subjects of inquiry, such as elves,
fairies, pixies, headless steeds, howdening, the barguest, local
feasts, &c., and led to a large number of very interesting
letters, which are to be found in the subsequent numbers of
the Athenaum* A generation has almost passed away since
"Ambrose Merton" wrote this letter — it is now one of the
records of past literary history — yet perhaps there are but few
members of the Folk-Lore Society who do not know that under
that name its valued Director, Mr. Thoms, first publicly proposed
the collection of Folk-Lore, which after thirty-two years he
has seen practically carried out by the establishment of the
Society.

Since the time when it was first introduced the term Folk-
Lore has found favour both with the antiquary and the scientist.
It is now duly incorporated in English dictionaries, and has also
extended bevond English-speaking countries, having been adopted
in Germany.

It is more diflScult to explain what branches of knowledge are
properly understood to be included under this generic title.
The study of Folk-Lore has been extended far beyond the
original conception. Stated broadly, it may be said to stand
towards the history of a people in a position exactly corresponding
to that in which the famous " unwritten law " stands toward^

4 FIRST BEPOKT, MAT 1879. ■

statute law — and may be defined as unwritten history. More-
over it is the unwritten history of primitive times. During the
development of civilised life many of the old manners, customs,
observances, and ceremonies of olden times are, as it were, thrown
off by the leading sections of society, and they gradually become
the superstition and traditions of the lower classes. Again, many
of the deeds of wai'like men or of local heroes and heroines are
told and retold to those whose kitli and kin or whose local
habitation give more than a passing interest to the subject, and
thus is formed the legendary ballad or tale and the proverb.
Lastly, when the household god and the tribal or national
mythology gave way to the influences of Christianity, the old
religion was not entirely eradicated, from the memory or the
associations of the people; it survived in the nursery tale and in
the surperstitious reverence for certain rites and ceremonies.

Thus, Folk-Lore may be said to include all the " cidture " of
the people which has not been worked into the official religion
and history, but which is and has always been of self growth.
It represents itself in civilised history by strange and uncouth
customs; superstitious asaoMations with animals, birds, flowers,
trees, and topographical objects, and with the events of human
life; the belief in witchcraft, fairies, and spirits; the traditional
ballads and proverbial sayings incident to particular localities;
the retention of popular names for hills, streams, caverns, springs,
tumuli, fountains, fields, trees, &c., and all such out-of-the-way
lore. In savage life all these things are extant, not as survivals but
as actual portions of the prevalent state of society. The Folk-
Lore survivals of civilization and the Folk-Lore status of savage
ii-ibes both, therefore, belong to the primitive liistory of man-
kind ; and in collecting and printing these relics of one epoch,
from two such widely different sources, the Folk-Lore Society
win produce that necessary comparison and illustration which is
of so much service to the anthropologist.

It should be pointed out, however, that tlie main work of
the Society belongs essentially to the department of collecting
viateriaU. TJie efiually important work of illustrating these
collections, of placing them rightly in the scientific divisions of
hiunan history, can only be a subsequent work.

FIRST REPORT, MAY 1879. 5

In the first prospectus issued by the Council the following
divisions were made in the scope of the Society's labours : —

1. The reprinting of scarce books or articles on English Folk-
Lore, and the collection and printing of scattered materials
now existing in English olden-time literature.

2. The publication of original commimications on Folk-
Lore.

3. The printing of accounts of Folk-Lore of the Colonies
and of foreign countries.

4. The collection and printing of the Folk-Lore of savage
tribes.

The Council, keeping these objects steadily in view, have
established the " Folk-Lore Record," for the purpose of pub-
lishing all papers and contributions not suitable for various
reasons (such as length, &c.) for separate publication ; and they
think this volume, together with the list of proposed subjects
already in preparation for publication, will be found to cover
some portion of the ground over which their labours extend.

The publication for the year 1878 was —

THE FOLK-LORE RECORD, Part L

CONTAINING

Some West Snssex Superstitions lingering in 1868. Bj Mrs. Latham.
Miscellaneons : —

Notes on Folk-Tales. By W. R. S. Ralston, M.A.

The Folk-Lore of France. .By A. Lang, M.A.

Some Japan Folk-Tales. By C. Pfonndes.

A Folk-Tale and yarions superstitions of the Hidatsa Lidians. Communi-
cated by Dr. B. B. Tylor.

Chaucer's Night-SpeU. By William J. Thoms, F.S.A.

Plant-Lore Notes to Mrs. Latham's West Sussex Superstitions. By James
Britten, F.L.S.

Yorkshire Local Rhymes and Sayings.

Divination by the Blade-bone. By William J. Thoms, F.S.A.

Lidex to the Folk-Lore in the First Series of Hardwicke's " Science-Gossip."
By James Britten, F.L.S.

Some Italian Folk-Lore. By Henry Charles Coote, F.S.A.

Wart and Wen Cures. By James Hardy.

Fairies at Hkley Wells. By Charles C. Smith.

Notes. Queries. Notices and News.

6 FIBST EEPOHT, HAY 1879.

The difficulties in obtaining anything like a complete collection
of Folk- Lore dui'ing the first year were necessarily very great,
and the Society is much indebted to the Eov. W. D. Pariah for
80 valuable a contribution as the West Susses siiperstitions of
Mrs. Latham, whose work had been the collection of many
years.

The Council feel grateful for the very ready acknowledgment
of approval which this volume has received from almost all
quarters. They might have met the wishes of some Members
who had expected a larger volume if they had adopted a plan,
which in their opinion is not an advisable one, namely, to mort-
gage the future income of the Society. But they feel sure that
when the Members see from the Auditors' statement that not
only has the Society been able to meet all the preliminary
expenses, but all the expeusos of the first publication, out of the
income of the first year, they will feel perfectly satisfied with the
judgmeut of the Council in this matter.

The Folk-Lore Record will as far as possible be issued
annually and he considered essentially the Members' volnme.
Although the Council have decided not to restrict in all- cases
the issue of their publications to the Members of the Society
only, they think that it will be on all hands advisable to keep
the " Record " as the Member's volume, and not to offer it to
the public

The issues for 1879 will be—
Notea on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of Engiand and the Borders.
By Williani HendersoD. A new edition with conaiderable additions by the
Author.
Anbrej-'s liemains of Gectilisme and Jndaisme, with the additions by Dr. White

Kcnnet. To be edited by Jamea Britten, F.L.S.
The Folk-Lore Record, Tart II.

The Council received a most generous proposal from Mr.
Henderson with reference to the re-issne of his valuable work.
It is not necessary to state here the detail of these proposals,
but the practical effect is tliat the Council are enabled to issue
this volume to every Member of the Society, and in all proba-
bility will reap a substantial pecuniary benefit besides.

The new edition will contain many important addition ti,
collected by the autlior since the first edition was published,

FIRST REPORT, MAY 1879. 7

and a very carefully compiled index has been prepared by
Mr. Thomas Satchell. The Council have decided to oflfer this
work for sale to the public at a price exceeding the proportion
subscribed by Members, and they have appointed Messrs.
W. Satchell, Peyton, and Co. publishers to the Society for this
purpose.

Members should forward to the Honorary Secretary, as early
as possible, papers intended for the Folk-Lore Record^ Part IL
Every paper is submitted to a reading committee of the Council.

The following papers have been accepted : —

The Neo-Latin Fay. By Henry Charles Coote, F.S.A.

Malagasy Folk-Lore and Popular Superstitions. By the Beyerend J. Sibree, Jun.

The Folk-Lore of Modem Greece. By A. Lang, M.A.

The Folk-Lore of Chaucer. By the Reverend F. G. Fleay.

Other works are in active preparation. They include the
following : —

Excerpts from two Early-English Folk-Lorists.

Notes for a History of English Chapbooks and Fenny Histories.

East Sussex Superstitions. By the Keverend W. D. Parish.

Folk-Medicine. By William George Black.

Folk-Lore and Froyincial Names of British Birds. By the Beyerend Charles

Swainson.
The Merry Tales of the Wise Men of Gotham. To be edited, with illustrative

Notes and an Introductory Essay on English Noodledom, by William J,

Thoms, F.S.A.
The Folk-Lore of Lincolnshire. By Edward Peacock, F.S.A.
The Folk-Lore contained in the Gentleman's Magazine. By G. Laurence

Gomme, F.S.A.
The Denham Tracts. To be edited by James Hardy.
Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland. By the Beyerend Walter

Gregor.
Index to the Folk-Lore in " Notes and Queries." By James Britten, F.L.S.
On Madagascar Folk-Lore. By the Reverend J. Sibree.

In April of last year it will be remembered that the Council
prepared and issued forms for the compilation of a Bibliography
of English Folk-Lore. But almost immediately a Member
came forward and offered the use of his valuable collection, made
for a bibliography of superstitions and religious belief, which was
the result of many years' work, involving among other labours the

8 FIRST BEPOBT, MAV 1879.

cotuiileto penifial of the British Muaeum catalogues. Altliough i
this colloetion was only in part available for the Society's
purposes, and did not wiver all the ground which the Bibliography
of Folk-Lore will occupy, the Council very thankfully accepted
this offer, and tliey are able to announce as approaching comple-
tion

The Bibliogtapliy o! Folk-Lore. Compllad and edited by ThomuB SnWhel!.

Tile Council hope that the Members will always make a point
of communicating to the Honorary Secretary any scraps, oven
the smallest, relating to Folk-Lore. Such scraps may not be
iisod immediately on all occasions, but they will be classified and
arranged for use when opportunity shall arise. As a parallel
to this, Members who are engaged iii making collections of any
particular branch of Folk-Lore are invited to communicate with
the Honorary Secretary, so that at the first opportunity their
objects may be made known to the other Members, tliereby
creating co-operation in the work of the Society.

Tho following subjects may now be mentioned as coming
under the latter requirements : —

1. Notes on Folk-Lore of Plants should be sent to Mr. ,
James Britten, British Museum. |

2. Kotes on the Folk-I,ore of Birds to the Rev. Chai-les
Swainson, Rectory, Old Charlton, S.E.

3. Collections of Field Names and Legends connected there-
with to the Hon. Secretary.

4. Popular names and legends applied to natural and arti-
ficial topographical objects such as Hills, Streams, Wells,
Fountains, Tumuli, Trees, &c., to the Hon. Secretary.

5. Local Rliymes and Saj-ings to the Hon, Secretary.

6. Notes on Folk Medicine to Mr. W. U. Black, 1, Alfred
Terrace, Billhead, Glasgow.

7. Legends and superstitions connected witli Wells and
Fountains to Mr. Robert Charles Hope, Albion Crescent
Villa, Scarborough.

It has been suggested that a Library of Folk-Lore books
should be formed for ihe use of Members of the Society. Tho

FmST REPORT, MAY 1879. 9

Council would most gladly urge the adoption of this suggestion,
but do not see their way clear, at present, to recommend iiie
expenditure of any portion of the income of the Society for tins
object.

The Council early last year promulgated the following code of
Rules which they recommend to the Members for confirmation: —

I. " The Folk-Lore Society " has for its object the preserva-
tion and publication of Popular Traditions, Legendary Ballads,
Local Proverbial Sayings, Superstitions and Old Customs
(British and Foreign), and all subjects relating to them.

IL The Society shall consist of Members being subscribers to
its funds of One Guinea annually, payable in advance on the 1st
of January in each year.

III. A Member of the Society may at any time compound
for future annual subscriptions by payment of Ten Guineas over
and above the subscription for the current year.

IV. An Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be hold
in London at such time and place as the Council from time to
time appoint. No Member whose subscription is in arrear
shall be entitled to vote or take part in the proceedings of the
Meeting.

V. The affairs of the Society, including the admission of
Members, shall be conducted by a President and a Council of
twelve Members, who shall from among themselves elect a
Director, Treasurer, and Secretary. The Council shall have
power to fill up occasional vacancies in their number.

VI. At each Annual General Meeting all the Members of the
Council shall retire from office, but shall be eligible for re-
election.

VII. The accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the
Society shall be audited annually by two Auditors, to be elected
at the General Meeting.

VIII. Any Member who shall be one year in arrear of his
subscription shall cease to be a Member of the Society.

IX. Every Member (whose subscription shall not be in
arrear) shall be entitled to a copy of each of the ordinary works
published by the Society.

10 FIRST REPORT, MAT 1879.

X. No alteration shall be made in these rules except at a 1
Special General Meeting of the Society, and upon the requisi-
tion of at leaBt five Members, nor then unless at least one
month's previous notice of the change to be proposed shall have
been given in writing to the Secretary. The alteration proposed
shall be approved by at least three- fourths of the Members pre-
sent at such Meeting.

Signed by order of the Council,
VERULAM, President.
G. Laurence Gouue, Hon. Secretary.

FIRST REPORT, HAT 1879.

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FIRST REPORT, MAT 1879.

STATEMENT OF THE AUDITORS.

We, the Auditors appointed to examine the Accounts of the
Folk-Lore Society, hereby certify that the Treasurer has pro-
duced to us the Bankers' pass-book and the accounts and vouchers
for the year ending 31st December, 1878, and we also certify
that the above statement of Receipts and Expenditure is correct.
We have received a statement from the Honorary Secretary to
the effect tliat a further sum of £73 lOs. Od. has been received
during the present year on account of the subscriptions for 1878,
and that the amount of the outstanding liabilities on 31st Decem-
ber, 1878, was £122 Is. Od.

Edward Hailstone.
John Tolhurst.

15 May, 1879.

13
ANNUAL MEETING.

The First Annual Meeting of the Folk-Lore Society was held
on Thursday, 29th May, 1879, at the Rooms of the Royal
Asiatic Society, 22, Albemarle Street, at 4 o'clock p.m.

The Earl of Verulam, President, in the Chair.

The President opened the Meeting with a short address and
moved the adoption of the Report of the Council.

The Secretary having read the Report,

Mr. W. J. Thoms seconded the motion of adoption, and pointed
out that though the Report stated that the origin of the word
Folk-lore was due to him, the origin of the Society was really
due to the suggestion of a lady correspondent of Notes and
Queriesy whom he could not name beyond saying that she wrote
under the signature of St. Swithin.

The Secretary then read the Treasurer's Account and the
Statement of the Auditors.

It was proposed by General Allan, and seconded by Mr. A.
NuTT, ^'That the account and statement be approved and
adopted, and that the thanks of the Meeting be given to the
Auditors and Treasurer."

The Secretary having read the names of the Members of the
Council, it was moved by Mr. Tolhurst, and seconded, " That
the Council for the past year be re-elected."

It was moved by Mr. Hill, and seconded, " That Mr. Edward
Hailstone and Mr. John Tolhurst be the Auditors of the Society
for the ensuing year."

It was proposed by Mr. Solly, and seconded by Mr.
Churchill, " That the thanks of the Meeting be given to Mr.
William J. Thoms, F.S.A., for his services as Director."

It was proposed by Mr. Churchill, and seconded by Mr.
Britten, " That the thanks of the Meeting be presented to Mr.
Vaux, and the Royal Asiatic Society, for the privilege of
meeting in their rooms."

The foregoing Resolutions were all carried unanimously.

It was proposed by Mr. W. R. S. Ralston, seconded, and
carried unanimously, ^^ That this Meeting desires to express its
best thanks to the Earl of Verulam for presiding at this — the
first General Meeting of the Society."

®ftm mi Jttmlrm 4 th ^uri^tj.

PSESIDENT.
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF VERULAM, F.R.G.S.

JAMES BRITTEN, F.L.S.
HENRY C. COOTE, F.S.A.
SIR W. R. DRAKE, F.S.A.
G. L. GOMME, F.S.A.
HENRY HILL, F.S.A.
A. LANG, M.A.

COUHCIL.

PROFESSOR MAX MtJLLER, M^
F. OUVRY, F.S.A.
W. R. S. RALSTON, M.A.
EDWARD SOLLY, F.R.S. F.S.A.
WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A.
EDWARD B. TYLOR, LL.D.

DIRECTOB.— WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A,

TBEASUBEB.— SIR WILLIAM R. DRAKE, F.S.A.

H0N0SAB7 SECBETABT.^G. L. GOMME, F.S.A., Castelnan, Barnes, S.W.

ATOITOBS.— E. HAILSTONE, ESQ. F.S.A.
JOHN TOLHURST, ESQ.

BAHKEBS.— UNION BANK OF LONDON, CHARING CROSS BRANCH,

to whom aU Subscriptions should be paid.

George H. Adshead, Esq., 9, Strawberry Terrace, Pendleton.

Major-General Stuart Allan, F.S.A.Scot. Shene Lodge, Richmond.

George L. Apperson, Esq., The Common, Wimbledon.

The Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, W.

Mrs. Arnott, 6, Freesland Road, Bromley, Kent.

Edward I. Aydon, Esq., St, John's Chambers, Grainger Street West, Newcastle-

on-Tyne.
William E. A. Axon, Esq., Bank Cottage, Barton-on-Irwell.
James Backhouse, Esq., West Bank, York.
Jonathan E. Backhouse, Esq., Bank, Darlington.
J. E. Bailey, Esq., F.S.A., Egerton Villa, Stretford, Manchester.

OFFICERS AND MEMBEES.

Jamea Bain, Eeq., 1, Hajmarket, S.W.

Alexander BairJ, Esq., 251, Great Wostom lioad, Glasgnn'.

J. DuTJea Bamstt, Esq., 28, Tictoria Street, Montreal, Canada,

J. Bawdeu, Esq., Kingston, Cunada.

Clittrles H. Bayloj, Esq., Weat Broniwich.

William Batter BBjlef, Esq., Cotford Uoose, near Sidmontb, Ueiou.

The Karl Beauchamp, 13, Betgravo Sqaare, S.W.

Miss Bell, Bororere, Alton, Hants.

Key. H. J. Biggo, P.S.A,, Stoko Albanj Honao Market Ilarborough.

Isaac Binns, Esq., Batley, Yorkshire.

William George Black, Esq., I, Alfred Terrace, Hillliead, Glasgow.

J. F. Boaler, Esq., Woodrhjdding, Ilkej-in-Wharfdalo, Yorkshire.

The Boston AtheoKom, Boston, U.S.

H. Conrthope Bowen, Esq., 49, Gloucester Plaj;e, Portmaa Square, W.

Rot. Henry U. Bradahaw, Morley Rectory, Derby.

Mrs. WoodbousE Braioe, 56, Maddos Street, W.

James Britten, Esq., F.L.S., llritisSi Mnsenm, W.C.

Percy W. Britton, Esq., 13, Park Square, Leeds.

William E. Broogh, Esq., Leek, Staffordshire.

The Lord Brongham and Vans,

Hunry Thomas Brown, Esq., Cheater.

M. Jjoys Brntyre, II, Rue de la ViUe I'Eveque, Paris.

The Right Rev. Bishop Callaway, Cafiraria, South Africa.

J. M. Campbell, Esq,, Kelriu Groie, Glasgow,

Henry Campkin, Es<i„ P.S.A., Reform Clnb.

Rey. J. L. Cnrrick, Spring Ilill, Southampton.

Rer. J. W, CarimoU, CbriBt's College, Cambridge,

William Cbappell, Esq , F.8.A., Strafford Lodge, Oatlands Park, Wejbridgc.

H. B. Churchill, Esq., Weilaod House, Reigate.

Rev. George Christian, Redgalo, Uppingham,

Hyde Clarke, Esq., D.C.L., 32, St, George's Squaro, S.W.

Edward Clodd, Esq., Rosemoant, Tufnell Parli, N.

D. F. Cogan, Esq., Hibernian Bank, Swinford, Mayo.

John Collett, Esq., 12, Fopstoae Road, Kensington, W.

J, Payne Collier, Esq,, F.S.A., Riierside, Maidenhead.

The Library of Congress, Washington, U.S.

Moncure D, Conway, Esq., Hamlet House, Hammersmith.

Henry C. Coote, Esq,, F.S.A., Walwyn Honse, Richmond Road, West Brompton

F. W, CoseoB, Esq., F.S.A,, 27, Qnean's Gate, Kensington,

James Curtis, Esq,, 12, Old Jewry Chanibera, E.C.

Daniel Danlby, Esq., Biggleswade.

Uogb Wckb Diamond, Esq., M.D,, F.S.A., Tiviikeuham House, Twickenham.

Thomas Dixun, Esq., 15, Sunderland Street, Sumlciland,

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. 17

James H. Dormer, Esq., 48, DeTonshire Street, Queen's Square, W.C.

Sir William R. Drake, F.S.A., Oatlands Lodge, Weybridge (Treasurer).

J. Dalrymple Duncan, Esq., 226, West George Street, Glasgow.

John^. Dunn, Esq., F.R.G.S., 30, Clarerton Street, St. George's Square, S.W.

E. D. Durrant, Esq., 90, High Street, Chelmsford.
Key. T. F. Thiselton Dyer.

Charles W. Empson, Esq., 1, Southwood Terrace, Highgate, N.

John Eyans, Esq., LL.D. F.R.S. V.P.S.A. Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

J. T. Godfrey Fawssett, Esq., Lichfield.

John Fenton, Esq., Elm Tree House, Hampstead.

John George Fenwick, Esq., Moorlands, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Dayid Fitzgerald, Esq., 3, Forten Road, Hammersmith, W.

Rev. F. G. Fleay, 33, Ayondale Square, S.E.

Augustus W. Franks, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., Dir.S.A.

Edwin Freshfield, Esq., F.S.A., 5, Bank Buildings, E.C.

William Gamett, Esq., Quemmore Park, Lancaster.

The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., Harley Street, W.

F. W. Goddard, Esq., Seymour Lodge, St. James's Road, Brixton.
Frederick J. Gomme, Esq.

G. L. Gomme, Esq., F.S.A., Castelnau, Barnes, S.W. (Hon. Secretary).
The University Library, Gottingen.

Thomas B. Green, Esq., Summerstown, Oxford.

Rev. Walter Gregor, Pitsligo, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.

B. P. Grimsey, Esq., Stoke Lodge, Ipswich, Sulfolk.

Rev. A. B. Grosart, LL.D. F.S.A., Park View, Blackburn, Lancashire.

Rev. T. R. Grundy, Elbury Lodge, Newton Abbot.

Arthur Gunn, Esq., Haverstock Hill, Hampstead.

Mrs. Gutch, Holgate Lodge, York.

Robert Guy, Esq., Femcliff, PoUockshaws, near Glasgow.

Edward Hailstone, Esq., F.S.A., Walton Hall, Wakefield (Auditor).

John Hamer, Esq., Ladywell, Dartmouth Park Hill, N.

James Hardy, Esq., Oldcambus, Cockbnmspath.

H. S. Harris, Esq., 26, Porchester Square, W.

Mrs. Harrison, Shirley House, The Avenue, Beckenham, Kent.

Fred. J. Harte, Esq., 3, Clifton Square, Lytham, Lancashire.

E. Sidney Hartland, Esq., 8, Brunswick Place, Swansea.

William Henderson, Esq., Ashford Court, Ludlow, Shropshire.

Henry Hill, Esq., F.S.A., 2, Curzon Street, Mayfair, W.

Robert Holland, Esq., Norton Hill, Runcorn, Cheshire.

Robert Charles Hope, Esq., Peterhouse, Cambridge.

J. Devenish Hoppus, Esq., Church Cottage, Woburn Sands, Bedfordshire.

David Howard, Esq., Rectory Manor, Walthamstow, E.

H. E. Hubbart, Esq., 6, Thurland Street, Nottingham.

OFnOBR» Als'D MEUBERS.

Rev. Cunon Hnme, D.C.L., All S&ints Vicftrftge, LiTerpooI,

A. Granger Hntt, Esq., 8, Oxford Road, Kilbnm, N.W.

Rev. E. P. Dnuiimonil Hntton, D.D,, St. Silas, Glasgow.

Count Takatsga Ironye, U.R.A.S., UniTersiQ' College, Goirer Street,

FrmiciB W. Jackson, Esq., Botton Percy, Tadcftater.

Joseph J. Jenkins, Esq., 67, Hamilton Tarrare, N.W.

Mrs, Jobliog, 97, Hathgar Road, Dublin.

The John Hopkins Univeraitj-, Baltimore, U.S.

Joseph Jonee, Eaq., Abberley Hull, Stonrport,

Rbv. W. Rodwell Jones, Hnnley, Osfordahire,

G. H. Kinahan, Esq., Ovoea, Ireland.

Mrs. Henry Kiogeley, Attrees, Cnckfield.

Alfred Kingston, Esq., Record Office, Fetter Lane,

John Kimop, EBq,, 6, Qneen's Creflceat, Glasgow.

0. J. Knight, Esq., F.S.A., York Terrace, Regent's Park.

EeT. W- B. Laeh-Szyrma, M.A., St. Peter's Vicarage, Penzance.

Alexander Laing, Esq., LL.D., Newhnrgh-on-Tfl)', Scotland.

A. I>ang, Esq., M.A., 1, Marloes Road, Kensinglcn.

Henry C. Lea, Esq., 706, Saosora Street, Philadelphia,

F. do M. Leathea, F*q., 17, TaTistoik Place, W.C.

Dr. Felix Liebrecht, Li?ge, Rne de Monton Blanc 13.

Professor Lindsay, D.D., Free Chorch College, Glasgow.

John Loekett, Esq., Market Drayton.

The London Institution, Finsbnry Circns.

The London Library, St. James' Square, S.W.

J. Long, Esq., 19, Adam Street, W.C.

Sir John Lubbock, High Elms, Beekonbam, Kent.
J. W. MacCarthy, Esq., British Legation, Tedo, Japan.
Edgar MacCulloch, Esq., F.S.A., Gnomaey.
John Machair, Esq., Moray Place, Edinburgh.

Alex. Mackay, Esq., Trowbridge, Wilts,

Rev. Clement W. Mackey, Alveiey Vicarage, Bridgnorth.

William L. Mackie, Esq., 23, Yonge Park, Holioway, N.

Surgeon-General Mackinnon, 3, Camp Villas, Colchester.

William MacLennan, Esq., 317, Drummond Street, Montreal, Canada.

Sir Henry Sumner Maine, K.C.S.I., LL.D., F.R.9., 27, Cornwall Gardens.

Mrs. E. M. Mann, Manor House, Shropham, Thetford, Norfolk.

Ch. Eikin Mathews, Esq., 7, Hamilton Terrace, Highbury Purk, N.

The Mercantile Library, Philadelphia, U.S.

H. E. Michelsen, Esq., 9, James Street, Westboume Terrace.

J. MiddletoD, Esq., Weatholme, Cbell^nham.

The Mitchell Library, Glasgow.

John Moore, Esq., Oakwood, litcktnbnni, Keiil.

OFFICERS AKD MEMBEKS. 19

James Earl Moreton, Esq., F.R.C.S., Tanrin, near Chester.

Rey. A. B. Morris, Keighley, Yorks.

Professor Max MuUer, M.A., Norham Gardens, Oxford.

James Napier, Esq., Maryfield, Bothwell.

The Lady Caroline NeviU.

The Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Robert Cradock Nichols, Esq., F.S.A., 5, Sussex Place, Hyde Park.

James Nicholson, Esq. Morton, Berwick-upon-Tweed.

** Notes and Queries," The Proprietor of.

Alfred Nntt, Esq., Rosendale Hall, Dulwich.

Frederic Onvry, Esq., F.S.A., 12, Qneen Anne Street, Carendish Square.

William L. Sharp Page, Esq., 4, Upton Vale Terrace, Torquay.

Cornelius Paine, Esq., 9, Lewes Crescent, Kemp Town, Brighton.

Edward Palmer, Esq., 7, The Crescent, Tressilian Road, St. John's Street.

George L. I. Palmer, Esq., Trowbridge, Wilts.

M. Gaston Paris, Membre de I'lnstitut, 7, Rue de Regard, Paris.

Rey. W. D. Parish, The Vicarage, Selmeston, Lewes.

W. Payne, Esq., Hatchlands, Cuckfield, Sussex.

Edward Peacock, Esq., F.S.A., Bottesford Manor, Brigg, Lincolnshire.

C. Pfoundes, Esq., Custom House, London.

John South Phillips, M.A., Barton Lodge, Bury St. Edmund's.

Mrs. W. F. Phillpotts, 3, Gloucester Terrace, Campden Hill, W.

William Buncombe Pink, Esq., Leigh, Lancashire.

Mrs. Pollard, 5, Belsize Crescent, N.W.

Hon. Gerald Ponsonby, 64, Green Street, Grosvenor Square, W.

R. T. Porter, Esq., Raleigh, Beckenham, Kent.

D*Arcy Power, Esq., 37A, Great Cumberland Place, Hyde Park.

The Earl of Powis, 45, Berkeley Square, W.

Mrs. Priestley, 17, Hertford Street, Mayfair, W.

W. R. S. Ralston, Esq., M.A., 8, Alfred Place, Bedford Square.

Thomas Ratcliffe, Esq., Worksop.

Isaac J. Reeve, Esq., Newhayen, Sussex.

W. Napier Reeye, Esq., F.S.A., Leicester.

J. H. Riyett-Camac, Esq., C.I.E., F.S.A., M.R.A.S., F.G.S., Ghazipur, India.

Josiah Rose, Esq., Leigh, Lancashire.

Henry Ross, Esq., F.S.A., Chestham Park, Henfield, Sussex.

Rey. G. Stringer Rowe, Harrogate.

George Augustus Sala, Esq., Mecklenburg Square.

The Lady Salt, Maplewell, Loughborough.

Thomas Satchell, Esq., Downshire Hill House, Hampstead.

J. Ebenezer Saunders, Esq., F.S.A., F.L.S., 9, Finshury Circus, E.C.

Rev. A. H. Sayce, Queen's College, Oxford

George Scharf, Esq., F.S.A., National Portrait Gallery, South Kensington.

I JU A, HMlUKfc. E*s , Bmm. U&
I fkoteifk Nhcfiwi, Km|^ I. I/Mtwd Btnct, BelfHt.

I S»*. J. BUma, )f.. 4, Wdkad Twmm, Upper WmAma Bead, BItUk HilL
(Xk WaflMrW, Gmt Otoc»dU*, IVtAUoglcH.
U Babk. bq., M, Stte Squn.

CUriM C RMith, £a|., Budt^, mmt KiUwkk, Tc«fcibir«.

Gmtk* Smidi, l!«q., PAA^ «^ BHnUlM Tcnwx, Bt Johs'i Wood, H.W.

l{4*ant IMIr, K.iq., F.B.B., F.HjL, Soiiod, Bamj.

WilUam Hw«D ttauMMcbcfn, E<4^ IS, Fal«nuMtn- Bqun, E.C.
^/. O. Ikmnbf, Eaq.. 0*UiAMd-BpMi''I>ii*.

IT Dr. Owixs Supbu, F.aA., Copcnhtgni.
W'C. tt. Ht^fbeniM), lUq., UUu RcMd, CUelnu, Bhdw, S.W.
' Dr. A. P. euwart, 7S, Oronenor 8tre«t, W.

Rtr. Ch*rU« Swaiaiia, Tbe llccturv, Otil Chariton.

ILm. W(rtBjk«ji,QirJUf.

Edward Taylor. '''•H'. Hockerrllte, Binhcip* Stortfotd.

WUILun J. Ttinnu, Kwj. F.K.A,, 40, St. Gwrge's Kqu&re, S.W, (Director).

Kamnel Timniin*, Kwj., F.H.A., RUetbam Lodge, BirmiDgbun.

•fuhn 1'ulliimt, Ewi., Gbtibrouk, Beckunham, Kent (Anditor).

Tbi Turijaar Nituml HUlory Society.

Hiu Ibnriett* TnwDiwnil, Sooth End Houw, Crofdon.

Qenrgd M, TratumH, EiH]., Ht. Hilary, Cowbriilge, Glamorganibire.

I)r, KdwnrU K. Tylur, Linden, Wellington, Somcrsetsbire.

J. B, Ud*!, E«q., 1, Hnrconrt Buildings, Tample, E.C.

Pruioavur J. Veitub, LUU,. Glmgow Uaiveniily.

Hut. Precentor Vonables, The Prow-'ntorj, Lincoln.

'ITie Ulitht Hon. the Bad of Vonilun, Gorhamhnry, St. Albans (Preaident).

n. II. Wullauo, Kaq., HewUm Hall, Keanownj, Fife, N.B.

John Witlker, Emi., EnitfloliI Honno, Corliridgo-on-Tjiie.

KorncD Walpolv, K«(|., India Office, Whitehall

Chu. Walton, Km|., Tbn Munor Houho, Kwt Acton, W,

{;, Stftiilkud Wako, E«q., 74, Wright Street, HnU.

Mra. Wartriivb}', Market Harbori)U){li.

Alfred WhiW, Eihi„ F.H.A., F.L.S., Wuat Drajtm.,

George Wblto, Emi., Hi. BriaYelH, Epntini.

WilUnni A. White, Ew)., C,B., H.B.M.-a Cousul- General, Belgrnda.

IlrtTrilltuu Whltetord, Ewj., 17, Cunrlvnay Street, Plymouth.

Ituv. J. Wbltmeit, F.lt.O.S., C.M.Z.S.. 6, Dacre Pork, Bltickheatb.

Adin Williani*, Km]., KempiCard, FairCurd, GIoucBsterBhire.

Charlcw WlllUmi, E«q., MoBaley Lodge, near Birminebam.

J. Itomlngtoit Wilnon, K«q., Petwortb, SuBsex.

Wllllatri Wlbkin, Fmi. West Lodge, Pollockiibieida, Glaggow.
■ M1hsI<:, a. WinHeUl, North Cimua Street, Nottingham.

ItliN li. M Z.iraliii, U, Cliftoo Tomwe, Winchester.

ADDITIONAL LIST OF MEMBERS.

T. Adkins, Esq., Smethwick, near Birmmgham.

J. B. Andrews, Esq., Villa Piganti, Mentone.

Edward W. Brabrook, Esq., F.S.A., 11, Limes Villas, Lewisham, S.E.

The Conntess of Caledon.

Signer Comparetti, Florence.

Richard B. Cragg, Esq., Skipton.

Rev. Prebendary Davies, M.A., Moor Conrt, Kington, Herefordshire.

Ernest Foreman, Esq., 1 , Gresham Villas, Stanstead Road, Forest Hill, S.E.

Colonel Francis Grant, 4, Fairholme Road, West Kensington, S.W.

J. Guerrin, Esq., Leelands, Trinity Road, Upper Tooting.

James E. A. Gwynne, F.S.A., 97, Harley Street, and Folkington Manor, Sussex.

Lord Hanmer, F.S.A., 59, Eaton Place, S.W., and Bettisfield Park, Whitchurch,

Salop.
Harvard College Library.
Dr. Reinhold Kiihler, Weimar.
Rey. W. E. Layton, Cranbonme, Windsor Forest.
Alexander Macmillan, Esq., Bedford Street, Covent Garden.
Manchester Free Library, King Street, Manchester.
E. Marston, Esq., Crown Buildings, Fleet Street.
Middlesbrough Free Library.
W. G. Palgrave, Esq.
Professor Z. Consiglieri Pedroso, Lisbon.

Plymouth Institution and Devon and Cornwall Nat. Hist. Society.
Arthur Porter, Esq., Brookhurst, South Norwood, Kent.

John Edward Price, Esq., F.S.A., M.R.S.L., 60, Albion Road, Stoke Newington,N.
C. Riestonigee, Esq., Ghazipur, India.
Mifis Sandars, Lower Soughton, Northop, Flintshire.
Surgeon-Major Sartoris, Ghazipur, India.
Royal Library of Stockholm.
Lieutenant R. Camac-Temple, India.
P. C. Wheeler, Esq., Bengal Ciril Service, Ghazipiir, India.
Sparks Henderson Williams, Esq., F.S.A., 5, Essex Court, Temple.
Sydney Williams, Esq., Henrietta Street, Covent Garden.
R. H. Wood Esq., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., Penrhos House, Rugby.

. 1

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